


Third one's the charm

by korichiro



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Flirty Harry, Harry would shag all the boys, Insecure Louis, Jealous Louis, Louis in Lingerie, M/M, Mentions of Harry with Zayn and Liam as well, Multi, Polyamory, Sad Niall, Sexting, Shy Niall, Taking care of Louis, Threesome - M/M/M, Zayn and others just mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-09
Packaged: 2018-05-19 08:17:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5960476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/korichiro/pseuds/korichiro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry has a crush on basically everyone, but this time Louis is feeling more jealous than usual.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Third one's the charm

”There he is”, Harry said, swinging his arm up in the air so his co-worker would notice him. The dyed-blond guy made his way over with a huge grin and deposited his equally huge photography gear bag into one of the two free chairs around the table.

“Sorry I’m late, Harry, ran into some trouble and then I didn’t have time to drop this monster off at home in between”, the guy said, gesturing to the bag. Harry smiled back at him, and then gestured to the others.

“Niall, this is everyone. Everyone, Niall”, he said. Niall grinned and put his hand out to the closest, Zayn.

“Nice to meet you all, I’ve been a bit short on friends since the sudden move, but Harry tells me you’re all great, and anyway he is, so I guess you’d have to be too”, Niall blabbered on, barely pausing to hear Zayn say his name.

“Sorry I didn’t have the time to change either, I’m just in my usual gear while you all look pretty dolled up”, Niall continued, shaking Liam’s hand as well.

“It’s just because they’re meeting their girlfriends later on”, Harry said with a grin.

“What’s your excuse then?” Niall asked, grinning back before moving to shake Louis’ hand.

“Well, Louis is my boyfriend”, Harry said with an incline of his head in Louis’ direction, before Louis had time to introduce himself.

“Oh, this is the famous Louis? Harry barely shuts up about you, mate”, Niall said with a smile in Louis’ direction then. Louis couldn’t help the cold note in his voice when he spoke up.

“I could say the same”, he said, and despite the cold shoulder, Niall seemed to brighten up more for that, turning back to the others and glancing around the table.

“Brilliant, you seem to be in desperate need of another round. I’ll get it, seeing as I was late and all”, he said, checking everyone’s order and then disappearing towards the bar.

Harry was still smiling in his direction when Zayn and Liam turned to Louis.

“That wasn’t too friendly, Lou”, Liam pointed out. Louis bit his lip and stared at his drink, shaking off Harry’s hand that was trying to wrap around his shoulders.

“Yeah, I mean, you’ve been acting strange since you got here, what’s up?” Zayn asked. Louis resolutely avoided Harry’s eyes, but did a quick glance up at the others before concentrating on ripping apart the coaster he’d been toying with all night.

Silence descended for a moment, but Louis didn’t look up to see what the others were doing. Probably rolling their eyes at him anyway.

“What you just said…” Liam started, making Louis turn his face away altogether.

“I mean, yeah, Harry’s been on about him for a while now, but…”, Zayn said.

“Oh come on, you can see how Harry wants to shag him”, Louis blurted out, biting his nails and glaring at the blond hair he immediately spotted at the bar after glancing up.

“Mate, Harry wants to shag everyone”, Liam said in a laugh.

“Or at least snog”, Zayn said with a grin. Louis glanced at Harry at that, and saw the other three all grinning.

“Yeah, as I recall you had no problems with Harry snogging us”, Liam said. Louis still wasn’t accepting Harry’s arm around himself, but when he saw Niall turn back towards them, he moved closer. Harry chuckled at him and leaned in for a short kiss.

“Love you, Lou”, he said quietly. Louis sighed, rolling his eyes a bit.

“You two aren’t a threat, you’re both practically married”, he said to the others, making them chuckle.

“Well so’s Harry”, Zayn said. Louis glanced at Harry at that, and met a soft smile. Harry’s fingers rose up to meet his cheek and his lips neared his. When Louis let Harry kiss himself softly, he heard Zayn and Liam welcome their next round of pints that Niall and a waitress brought over.

“Stop exchanging saliva, you saps”, Liam said after a while, prompting Louis to pull back and shove Harry a bit. Harry just grinned and bopped his nose.

“God, you are as sickening as ever”, Liam said, chuckling.

“Personally don’t mind two blokes kissing at all”, Niall chimed in. Louis had a sinking feeling in his stomach. Harry had said he had no idea of Niall’s orientation, and if Niall was gay, it seemed more likely that something was going to go horribly wrong, and soon.

“Liam only minds because Tara isn’t here yet”, Harry pointed out. Liam grinned at that.

“True, don’t mind if you get off right here as long as I have my girl in my lap”, he said. Everybody laughed at that, even Louis chuckled a bit.

“That’s the only condition you had for me snogging you that one time, too”, Harry said with a laugh. Liam grinned.

“She really seemed to enjoy that, though”, he said, “we could go again any time, she said.”

“Oi”, Louis said with a frown, but joined in when the others laughed.

“As I recall it, Louis enjoyed it as much as she did”, Zayn said with a grin. Louis rolled his eyes at him when the others laughed again.

“Well, for me the enjoyment came from Tara later on”, Liam said.

“Oi, you saying I’m a bad kisser?” Harry asked with a grin.

“Probably all right for someone who fancies guys”, Liam grinned.

“Definitely not bad”, Zayn said, “even for someone who doesn’t generally fancy guys.”

“Wait, you’re not bisexual?” Harry asked with a tilt of his head. Zayn chuckled.

“Considered myself completely straight before snogging you”, he said with a grin.

“But you went for that one chap, what’s his name, at that same party, didn’t you?” Liam asked.

“Well unlike you, I wasn’t attached at the time, had to find someone to help me out after that snog”, Zayn said with a grin.

Louis ventured a quick glance at Niall, who seemed fascinated at the conversation so far.

“Wait, was I there? I feel like I was”, Liam said.

“Oh yeah, everyone was there. Unlike your stealthy snog in the bedroom, this one happened right in the middle of the party, and unlike you and Tara, I wasn’t asked anything”, Zayn said.

“You were just too drunk to remember”, Harry pointed out to Liam, who laughed.

“Probably yeah”, he said, “so wait, you just went and snogged Zayn? In public and completely out of the blue?”

“The second Louis gave me permission”, Harry said with a grin. Louis was biting his nails again, glancing around the table and being uncharacteristically quiet.

“Basically I was sat there, see, feeling sorry for myself ‘cos Liam was snogging Tara and Harry was snogging Louis, and my ex had basically just dumped me like a week ago”, Zayn started explaining to Niall, who was sipping his pint with a sparkle in his eyes.

“He was sitting on the sofa in the middle of two snogging couples”, Harry chimed in.

“Tara in Liam’s lap, Harry straddling Louis’. And then all of a sudden, Harry’s mouth is on mine and he’s climbing into my lap instead. I had no clue what was going on”, Zayn said.

“Your body seemed to get a clue pretty fast”, Harry grinned.

“Well, yeah, that’s kind of how I figured I might be into guys as well”, Zayn said with a chuckle.

“So we snog for a bit”, Zayn continued, turning back to Niall, “and there’s some grinding happening, and all, and then this fucker pulls back, grabs me once with a huge grin on his face, and gets up. He basically adjusts his boner and pulls Louis into the bedroom, and leaves me sitting there about to cream my pants.”

Everyone laughs at that, even Louis has to grin and he isn’t fighting Harry’s arm around him at all at that point.

“So you found someone else to take care of you then?” Liam asked.

“Caught Todd’s eye. He’d seen the whole thing, was looking at me like he wanted to eat me up”, Zayn said.

“Did he?” Harry asks with a laugh. Zayn rolled his eyes at him.

“Gave me a blowjob in the toilet”, he said.

“You give one back?” Liam asked.

“Nah, had to work up to that one. Been mostly hand jobs for me”, Zayn said with a shrug.

“So you are bisexual?” Harry asked. Zayn shrugged again.

“Not really defining it, I mean, it’s not like you turned me gay or even made me think about it at all, I just basically started noticing guys as well, and that’s lead to some snogging or hand jobs, yeah”, he said.

“What about working yourself up to a blowie?” Louis had to ask at that point, and Zayn and Liam gave him huge grins. He guessed they were basically just for finally opening his mouth.

“Well, I mean, you know me and Hannah had a threesome”, Zayn said.

“Wait- I thought it was with a girl!” Liam exclaimed, and Zayn just grinned.

“Nah, Charlie was a bloke”, he said.

“Huh. So I’m like, the only person here who’s completely straight?” Liam asked, glancing at Niall. Niall grinned at him.

“Reckon so”, he said, “I haven’t been with a girl since I touched my classmate’s tits and had a panic attack.”

“Seriously?” Louis asked, unable to stop himself. Niall laughed.

“I was what, fifteen? Everyone I knew was straight, and I hadn’t exactly thought about being anything different. Except my eyes kind of wandered more towards my mates than any girls. Kept getting this butterfly feeling in my stomach every time my best mate, Des, even looked at me. Then everyone was getting together with girls and I figured, hey, that Anne chick is quite nice and pretty, so let’s try it with her”, he said. Everyone was turned towards him expectantly at that point.

“Long story short, we dated a bit, snogged a bit, I started to realise you were supposed to get those butterflies when snogging a pretty girl, not when hanging out with your best mate”, everybody laughed a bit at that, “then one day she got all hot and bothered when we were snogging home alone. By that point I knew I had the hots for Des for real, and I was panicking about not feeling anything towards girls. So when we got to some touching, I just lost it. Couldn’t breathe, couldn’t see, couldn’t move.”

“Must’ve been scary as hell to the girl”, Liam pointed out. Niall nodded with a laugh.

“She called an ambulance, and my parents got home when they’d just arrived”, he said.

“Must’ve been great explaining the situation”, Zayn said. Niall grinned.

“It took me a year to confess to my sister what had really happened. Nowadays it’s one of the best stories I have, but well, the aftermath wasn’t that great”, he said.

“The figuring out you were gay part?” Liam asked. Niall shrugged.

“The getting a boner while wrestling with my mates and having them bully me and tell the whole school part, yeah. Figured out what I was somewhere between the slurs and this other bullied gay kid coming onto me a bit”, Niall said.

“Woah”, Zayn said, when there’d been a short, slightly awkward silence. Louis glanced at Harry when Harry dislodged himself from him to hug Niall, but Niall just laughed and took another sip.

“Probably not the best sexual awakening story out there, and I’m glad it’s all behind me, but seriously, Harry, it’s fine”, he said, turning to pat Harry on the head. Harry pouted at him.

“Don’t take away my excuse to hug you”, he said, and Louis’ churning stomach felt really hot all of a sudden.

“No, that’s fine, I’m a tactile guy, but you already know that”, Niall said with a grin, elbowing Harry a bit. Louis caught Zayn’s eyes on him and turned his own away.

“So what is it with all the hottest guys being straight?” Niall asked then, pouting at Liam, who grinned widely.

“He’s hardly the hottest guy here”, Harry said with a frown.

“Yeah, yeah, we all know you’re the hottest, Harry”, Zayn said with a smirk. Louis didn’t join in on the laughing.

“Fine, with all the hot guys being already taken?” Niall asked with a grin, still looking at Liam.

“You’re not taken”, Harry pointed out, and Louis sucked in a loud breath. Apparently not loud enough for Harry to notice, but both Zayn and Liam glanced his way even while chuckling.

Some time, more stories and more flirting from Harry later, Niall and Liam both excused themselves for the loos. The moment Niall was far enough away, Louis shrugged Harry’s hand from his shoulders again.

“Do me a favour?” he asked and Harry looked at him with a slight frown.

“Stop with the flirting?” Louis said when it seemed like Harry didn’t quite get it.

“What?” Harry asked.

“I’m serious. Stop flirting with him”, Louis said.

“You’ve never had a problem with Harry flirting before”, Zayn pointed out, earning himself a glare from Louis.

“None of your business, is it”, Louis pointed out in a cool voice. Zayn frowned at him.

“Louis”, Harry said with a frown himself, and Louis just shook his head at him.

“He’s got a proper crush on him”, Louis said. Zayn rolled his eyes at him.

“Had a proper crush on both me and Li at some point, I’ve heard”, he said. Louis scoffed and bit his nails again, even though there was hardly anything left to bite.

“Has a proper crush on nearly everyone, I’ve heard”, Zayn pressed on.

“Crushes come and go, yeah. Sometimes I kind of need a snog or something to get over them, or then just wait long enough or something”, Harry said with a shrug.

“Oh come on, this is not just a simple crush, and you know it”, Louis said with a glare.

“How so?” Zayn asked.

“Well, apparently they just clicked when they first met. All I hear about nowadays is bloody Niall this, Niall that, Niall’s so bloody perfect and then he comes here and he’s nice and fit and all that, and— “, Louis rambles angrily, shrugging away from Harry’s hands again.

“He sort of clicked right away with the whole group, mate”, Zayn said. Louis just bit his lip at that. He knew that very well. Niall was great, and that made it even worse.

“Lou”, Harry was saying just as Liam returned to the table, “I love you. I’m not going to throw that away for a crush, no matter how big.”

Liam, who’d been about to sit down, sat down slowly, wary of what he’d stepped into.

“Everything… OK?” he asked slowly, when Harry just stared at Louis and Louis stared at the table.

“He’s back”, Zayn pointed out, and Louis just shook his head and sighed. A moment later Niall, oblivious to the tension, sat down and took a swig of his beer.

“So, do I, like, ping on some gaydar or something?” he asked, frowning at the others.

“Not that I’ve noticed. Didn’t know that about you until tonight”, Harry said, “never came up I guess.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve definitely known about you for as long as I’ve known you since all you can talk about is your gorgeous boyfriend, but seriously, this face? Clothes? What is it?” Niall said. Louis perked up a bit at the comment on his looks.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked. Niall put his arm out and the others saw there was a phone number there.

“Just now, in the toilets…” Niall started to say.

“That guy seriously started to chat you up?” Liam asked with a chuckle.

“Not so much as chatted me up or anything, basically just told me my cock is delicious and took out a marker to write his number on me”, Niall said. Everybody laughed at that, even Louis let out a surprised chuckle.

“Well, he was eyeing you up and down at the urinals”, Liam said with a grin.

“But, I mean, I was peeing? What the hell?” Niall said, staring at the number on his arm.

“You gonna call him?” Zayn asked with a grin.

“I didn’t even get a good look at him, I was too busy eyeing Liam’s delicious cock”, Niall said with a grin, making the others laugh.

“Nah, just joking, but no, I’m just wondering if this comes off with soap or do I seriously have to go to work like this tomorrow”, Niall said, trying to rub at it.

Louis tuned out of the conversation after that, because he was too busy worrying about Harry going to the toilet with Niall and eyeing him up. So when Harry excused himself, and Niall jumped up saying he needed to go too, Louis was right there behind them, ignoring the looks Zayn and Liam sent his way.

In the toilets, Louis was glad he managed to snatch the urinal in the middle, so Harry couldn’t see, and he stole a glance at Niall himself.

Niall’s eyes didn’t stray, though, he was still telling Harry some story about their co-worker, and Louis felt really out of place in the middle of that conversation even though he’d met said co-worker a few times.

“Mate, I’m just gonna ask, because I’m already pretty buzzed from that one pint”, Niall said suddenly, when they were done washing their hands. Louis looked up at that, because he was clearly talking to him. Niall had a desperate look on his face.

“Can I touch your hair?”

Louis snorted at that, and Harry just burst out laughing.

“He has a thing for hair, his hands are always in mine”, he said, and there went Louis’ momentary good feeling again. He just shrugged, and immediately Niall’s fingers carded through his hair.

“God”, Niall moaned, “perfect, just like I thought.” Louis couldn’t help the amused look, then.

“I’m so jealous now. I mean I was jealous before, but— “, Niall mumbled, eyes fixed on his own hands.

“Jealous of who?” Harry asked with a chuckle.

“God, I was like, how can Harry’s boyfriend even let him out when he’s so _perfect_ , and then I saw you and thought, oh well, you definitely have nothing to worry about with letting him out, he’ll always come back to someone _that_ perfect”, Niall said. His hands left Louis’ hair, and Louis gave Harry a quick glance. Harry was grinning at him.

“I knew you got drunk easily, but mate, this is far too easy”, Harry was saying as they exited the toilets. Niall grinned at him.

“May have had an emergency beer in my bag which I downed on the way here”, he said. Even Louis chuckled at that, and they all sat back down and welcomed the new round Zayn and Liam had got in the meantime. Zayn’s girlfriend was sitting in his lap and kissing him, and everybody grinned at them.

“So, Niall, this is Dina”, Liam introduced, and Dina just gave a thumb up in no particular direction.

“Hello, Dina”, Niall said brightly, making everybody laugh, “I guess it’s been a while since they’ve seen each other?”

“Like two days”, Harry said, “Dina’s been back home, her sister just had a kid.”

“Congrats, auntie”, Niall said with a grin, and in a while, when Dina emerged, she smiled and waved at him.

“God you look so gone”, Louis laughed at Zayn, and Zayn grinned at him.

“Feel a bit funny too”, he said.

“That’d be the boner taking all your blood supply”, Louis said with a grin. Zayn just winked and downed the rest of the pint he’d been sharing with Dina.

“On that note”, he said, “I’m afraid there are some pressing matters we need to see to.”

“Zayn, I just got here”, Dina complained, but by her smile it was very evident she didn’t mind one bit.

The two of them got up, Zayn quickly grabbing his coat in front of his crotch, and the others laughed at him.

“Nice”, Louis commented earning a wink from both Zayn and Dina.

“Sorry, all mine”, she said as she started herding Zayn out.

“Was nice meeting you Niall, bye”, Zayn chuckled as he went.

“Bye!” everyone shouted, and Niall turned to laugh at the others.

“That was explicit”, he said.

“They’ve been going out for like a few months, they’re in the honeymoon phase”, Harry said.

“You and Lou have been going out for years, when’s your honeymoon phase going to stop?” Liam grinned. Louis rolled his eyes at him.

“We’ve behaved tonight”, he pointed out. Liam grinned.

“Makes me wonder if you’ve put like a leash on Harry or promised something extra good if he behaves”, he said with a wink.

“How much did you guys have to drink before I came? Seems like no one here has just had the one round”, Niall giggled.

“No he’s done those things before”, Liam said, “and this is probably my fifth, had a bit of a bad day at work.”

“Li was here way before we got here”, Harry explained.

“Yeah I don’t care about that now, tell me more about the leash”, Niall said, staring at Louis wide-eyed. Louis just chuckled and shook his head as he sipped his beer. Just then Tara plopped down in Zayn’s seat and pulled Liam into a short kiss.

“Hi, I’m Tara”, she said, putting a hand out to Niall, who introduced himself with a grin.

“If you see Liam wandering around, return him to me”, Tara grinned back.

“You got a leash too?” Niall asked, probably expecting Tara to be confused, but Tara just turned to wrinkle her nose at Louis and Harry.

“Seriously, guys, others don’t need to know about all that stuff”, she said, taking a sip from Liam’s pint. Everybody laughed at that.

“Like you haven’t spent endless hours with Harry, comparing sexual experiences”, Liam said with a small chuckle.

“True, girlfriends always talk”, Tara winked at Harry.

“You know more about Louis than I do”, Liam said, “and I’ve shared a flat with him years back.”

“Reckon I know enough about you, too”, Louis said, lifting his pint up and clicking it with Liam’s. Liam grinned at him.

“That flat had some thin walls, mate”, he said.

“That it did”, Louis chuckled.

“And you’re an awful gossip and I know a lot about Liam from you already, but Tara’s good at providing more detailed and recent intel”, Harry said with a grin, hand coming up to lightly massage Louis’ neck. Louis ducked a little, but seeing as he was trying to play it cool, he let Harry settle his arm around his shoulders anyway. With that move, however, he earned himself a frown from Tara and a discreet eye roll from Liam.

“You OK, Lou? You’re not as loud and bubbly as usual”, Tara asked. Louis shrugged and pretended to concentrate on his drink, but Niall piped up.

“Probably because I’ve been loud and chatty tonight”, he said.

“You’re always loud and chatty, too”, Harry said, sounding way too fond to Louis’ tastes.

“True, it’s probably not just tonight”, Niall grinned at Harry.

Louis glanced at Tara, who was rolling her eyes as Liam whispered something in her ear.

“Lou? Can I see you at the bar?” Tara asked. Louis shook his head.

“Just drop it, it’s fine”, he said, but Tara shook her head.

“I insist. You can help me get some shots to this table, it seems like some of us need them”, she said. Louis sighed but got up and started to follow her, avoiding Harry’s hand that automatically came up to touch him in some way. When he glanced back, he noticed Niall talking to Harry, looking worried.

“Is Liam fine?” Louis asked when Tara had placed the order for two rounds of shots.

“He will be. It was just a rough day at work, you know, putting down a few too many lately”, she said with a sigh. Liam’s job as a vet wasn’t always the greatest.

“It’s you I’m more worried about now”, Tara said, “you and Harry OK?”

“Yeah fine, it’s just…” Louis trailed off.

“Niall’s a huge crush of his, I know”, Tara finished for him.

“It’s fine usually, but, I mean, he’s been on about him for ages, and that’s already alarming, but then he shows up and he’s gorgeous and cute and fit and fun and chatty and I— “, Louis cut himself off.

“You like him”, Tara finished for him again. Louis sighed.

“I can see him becoming fast friends with everyone, me included, if it weren’t for that crush”, he said quietly. He glanced back at the table and saw Niall hugging Liam while Harry looked fondly on.

“He’s not going to, like, overthrow you”, Tara grinned. Louis chuckled at that. The shots were ready, so the two of them returned to the table with them.

Tara pecked Liam’s cheek and sit down opposite him, where Louis had been sitting, next to Harry. Louis also pecked Liam’s cheek, and went to sit on Harry’s other side, now in the middle of him and Niall.

“What do we drink to?” Harry asked when they all had their shots in front of them.

“To sex”, Louis announced, lifting his first one up and downing it in one go. Everyone else laughed, especially Niall, and downed theirs.

“You always drink to sex”, Liam complained.

“Because it’s so great”, Louis said.

“It should be appreciated”, Tara nodded.

“Zayn is appreciating it right now”, Harry grinned. Louis bopped him on the forehead.

“Get your mind out of Zayn’s bedroom”, he said with a grin. Harry grinned back.

“Can’t help it. Caught him at it too many times to not get images in my head when it’s mentioned”, he said.

“He does have a great arse”, Liam agreed.

“To Zayn’s arse”, Louis announced, downing his second shot. Everybody laughed again, downing theirs.

“Now I can see the loud, bubbly Louis Harry’s always on about”, Niall grinned, “what on earth was up with you earlier?”

“They were having a domestic”, Tara said with an eye roll.

“How did you get him to stop being so weird?” Liam asked, looking amazed.

“Hey!” Louis protested.

“Probably offered to let me snog you again”, Harry said, “they both enjoyed that one.”

“Not exactly, but that’s not a bad idea”, Tara said with a grin. Louis reached out then, taking hold of Harry’s hair and pulling him into a peck.

“Not sharing tonight”, he said, then turned to look into Harry’s eyes, “he owes me.”

“I don’t owe you anything, but I’m not saying no to what I know you’re thinking about”, Harry grinned widely.

“Please tell me whatever it is, it’s happening in public”, Niall said, staring at them wide-eyed. Everybody laughed.

Niall excused himself to the toilet again then.

“He is cute, though”, Tara grinned at Harry. Harry groaned a little.

“Tell me about it”, he said. Then he turned to Louis.

“Baby, seriously. Relax. You know I’d never do anything without your permission anyway”, he said, taking Louis’ hand. Louis rubbed his other hand over his face and squeezed Harry’s hand slightly.

“I know, I know, it’s just… you haven’t had such a big crush on anyone for a while, and it’s a co-worker nonetheless, so you see him every single bloody day”, Louis whined. But he brought Harry’s hand up to his lips and kissed it.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a prick about it, though. You’re clearly holding back on being your tactile self around him”, he said. Harry nodded.

“Because I didn’t have your permission”, he said.

“Just be yourself, love. And reassure me from time to time”, Louis said, smiling a little. They shared a soft smile and a peck on the lips, and turned back to the others to find Niall returning with a shocked face.

“Guys, I think I’ll need an escort from now on”, he said.

“What?” Harry asked with a frown as Niall sat down.

“The guy from earlier”, Niall said, showing his numbered arm, “he just tried to give me a hand job.”

“What?” everybody exclaimed, looking towards the toilets.

“Can’t see him, probably still in there”, Liam said. He turned to explain it to Tara while Niall just stared ahead at Harry. Harry reached out over the table and took his hand into his for a squeeze, and Louis found himself squeezing Niall’s shoulder.

“He just… basically stuck his hand down my pants”, Niall said.

“What the hell?” Louis exclaimed.

“No, it’s… that kind of thing happens to me a lot, I guess. I mean, I know I’m kind of… cuddly looking. Guys tend to assume I’m a complete pushover, or a blushing virgin or something”, Niall said, “and don’t get me wrong, I can totally defend myself, but that just kind of shocked me for a bit.”

“When you say that kind of thing happens to you a lot…?” Tara turned to ask. Niall chuckled a bit.

“I mean I keep getting groped a lot if I go out. I used to think it was because people saw me being so tactile, always sitting in friends’ laps and all that, but it’s happened when I’ve gone out here alone, so I kind of had to stop that and wait to make friends to go out with”, he grinned.

“You went out alone?” Tara asked, sounding worried.

“See, people think I’m a cuddly kid and can’t do anything alone”, Niall flashed a smile, and Tara laughed.

“Sorry”, she said, “but you are cute and cuddly.”

“So, yeah, when I moved here I thought I’d get to know the neighbourhood pubs and clubs a bit. They were kind of boring for the most part, but well, there was this gay place I went to a few times. I’m not really a one-night stand kind of guy but well, one does get lonely”, Niall said with a self-depreciating grin. Harry squeezed his hand again, making Louis notice he was still holding it.

“So the first time I went there, the dance floor was a bit too sticky to my tastes, and I don’t mean the floor. Managed to escape, though. The second time I avoided dancing anywhere but at the side, and met this ruggedly handsome Daniel Craig’s Bond type, who seemed nice enough, but when I was expecting just a walk home and maybe a kiss to accompany the phone number, he pushed me into a back alley and tried to go down on me without any protection or anything”, Niall said.

“Augh, that’s not on”, Louis said.

“Definitely not, with someone you know nothing about”, Harry agreed.

“Third time I went there, three guys cornered me in the toilet”, Niall said. Everybody was staring at him now, but he just grinned and stretched his hands in front of him, looking smug.

“They had never even heard of Krav Maga”, Niall said, making everybody laugh.

“God, I’m very glad you came along with us tonight, or well, glad you made friends with Harry and us and all that”, Tara said, “so you don’t have to fight off boredom and loneliness by going out alone to places like that.”

“Though, to be honest, we kind of expected you out with us sooner, what with the way Harry’s been on about you”, Liam grinned. Harry looked embarrassed, but Niall just grinned.

“Suppose I’d had a bad enough day for Harry to ask me to join you”, he said.

“How so?” Tara asked. Niall shrugged.

“Hearing not pleasant news from home first thing in the morning. Not that bad, but not pleasant either. And then work was just way too hectic today”, he said, sighing.

“Glad you’re here now then, you should come next week when it’s Li’s birthday”, Tara said. Niall smiled at Liam.

“You wouldn’t mind?” he asked. Liam laughed.

“Honestly probably be too drunk to care who’s there but now that it was mentioned my first thought was why did I not ask you already”, he said.

“Liam’s birthdays are usually massive things”, Harry pointed out, “like all his Facebook friends are invited or something. Me, I like a quiet night with my closest friends.”

“You like a not-so-quiet shag with your boyfriend while your closest friends awkwardly play Wii in the next room waiting for the pizza you just ordered”, Liam said with a scoff. Harry grinned at Louis, who rolled his eyes.

“And an equally not-so-quiet shag with your boyfriend again while everyone else is eating the pizza”, Tara said. Louis snickered at that, and it was Harry’s turn to roll his eyes.

“And a trying-to-be-quiet hand job under the blanket while we’re all watching movies right next to you”, Liam said with a groan. Louis caught Harry’s eye and just burst out laughing. He glanced around and met Niall’s wide eyes and Liam and Tara’s almost amused ones.

“Should we tell them?” Harry asked with a grin. Louis laughed and nodded, motioning him to go ahead.

“What?” Liam asked. Harry grinned as he turned to the others.

“We didn’t have sex at all on my last birthday”, he said, “none of that was real.”

“What?!” Tara yelled.

“Mate, that was like the most awkward day ever! We were basically crying, all of us!” Liam yelled.

“Every time we’d just decided to get out of there you managed to stop so we just figured we’d stay, but god, you know that day was probably one of the main reasons Hannah broke up with Zayn! She was mortified!” Tara joined in. Niall was just staring at everyone with an amused and shocked expression on his face, and Harry and Louis were laughing, Louis rubbing Harry’s upper arm a bit.

“Li you know what I got Harry for his birthday last year, right?” Louis asked. Harry turned to grin at him.

“By the sound of it, multiple orgasms”, Tara scoffed.

“Yeah, a tattoo”, Liam said. Louis nodded, glancing at Niall to see he was glancing at the tattoos peeking out from Harry’s neckline.

“And you remember where that tattoo went?” Louis asked.

“I’ve never heard of this, actually”, Tara said with a frown. Liam frowned, too.

“They told me and Zayn like the next day, I guess”, he said, “it was Louis’ initials or a heart or something.”

“Yeah, well, something decidedly romantic and possessive, though we didn’t exactly tell you what”, Harry said with a grin.

“Which one is it? Have I seen it?” Tara asked. Harry and Louis both burst out laughing.

“If Harry were anyone else, I’d probably guarantee you’d never see it. But knowing Harry, you actually might”, Louis said.

“It’s on his butt or something?” Tara asked. But Liam made a sound then.

“No, no, I know this one, this is the penis one, isn’t it? Ugh, I can’t believe you did that”, he groaned.

“What?!” Niall burst out, turning to look. To Louis’ surprise, he didn’t actually look at Harry, but Louis.

“So, Liam, now that you have all the clues, can you tell me why we didn’t have sex at all on Harry’s birthday last year?” Louis asked. It took Liam a couple of seconds, but then he groaned and buried his face in his hands.

“Yeah, now that you mention, you got the tattoo done the day before his birthday, and the day after you kept complaining about not being able to have sex”, he said.

“We did complain about that the day before as well”, Harry pointed out, “and like, kept throwing hints about maybe taking a tattoo like that for months.”

“So really, we just wanted to mess with you guys”, Louis said.

“You’re telling me neither one of you got off at all during Harry’s birthday?” Tara asked, leaning forward, looking shocked more than anything. Louis grinned.

“Not saying that”, he said.

“Ugh, but you really didn’t get off while we were there?” Liam said.

“No, we really didn’t”, Harry said, “neither of us.”

“God, your faces every time we re-joined you”, Louis cackled. There was a brief lull when everyone drank their beers and Liam and Tara got up to get one more round of them.

Then Niall opened his mouth.

“Did it hurt?” he asked, staring at Harry. Harry grinned.

“No more than the others. In fact, less than some”, he said.

“Fuck”, Niall said, still staring.

“You don’t have any tattoos?” Louis asked, trying to be nice. Niall shrugged.

“Never really felt the need”, he said, and Louis was prepared to defend tattoos when he continued, “but I find them insanely hot, especially the ones with some story behind them.”

Louis bit his lip about Niall’s eyes dropping to Harry’s chest tattoos, but then his eyes met Harry’s and Harry was just grinning at him.

“All ours certainly have stories attached”, he said. Louis chuckled.

“You’re tattooed too?” Niall asked, looking awestruck. Louis rolled up both his sleeves and pulled on his neckline a bit, lifting up an ankle as well.

“We’re both very much tattooed, yes”, he said. Niall stared at the arms, and his eyes followed the ankle as it hid back under the table. Louis and Harry both chuckled at that.

“Bloody hell”, Niall said as he downed the very last of his beer.

“What?” Louis asked.

“Just when I thought you couldn’t get any hotter”, Niall said, grinning at him. Louis actually felt a blush creeping on his face for that. Here was a guy, who seemed completely pure in his intentions, flirting with all of them, making friends and being awesome, and he’d basically been expecting him to jump at his boyfriend.

“So, tell me”, Liam said, sitting down, “What is it that Harry has tattooed on his cock?” Tara grinned.

“And more importantly, did you have to be hard, when getting it?” she asked. Harry grinned.

“Just a stylized, capital L. And actually we had to stop for a couple of times because he kept getting too hard”, Louis laughed.

“It’s better if you’re soft. Easier to manipulate. They stretch the skin you see”, Harry explained.

“How can you get hard during that?!” Liam spluttered. Harry took a sip from his new pint and shrugged.

“Oh come on, Li, you know Harry, he’s probably hard right now, he’s always hard”, Tara said with a grin at Louis. Louis sneaked a glance at Niall, who seemed a bit flustered.

“Do you have a, like, a pain thing?” Liam asked, red-faced. Harry shook his head.

“No, I don’t. The guy who did it was fit, and he was holding my prick, of course I got hard”, he said.

“Mostly during prep, though”, Louis commented, finding Harry’s hand with his own and bringing it up to kiss his knuckles.

“And well, because of the idea of what it symbolized, and because Louis was there”, Harry said.

“Because Louis was there? You mean you get hard every time Lou’s somewhere with you?” Liam asked. Harry grinned and winked at him, and everybody laughed.

“I just told you, he’s always hard”, Tara grinned.

“Are you right now?” Liam asked, looking amused. Harry made a show of pushing back a bit and looking down, and then winking at Liam with a grin. Liam groaned.

“No”, Harry said, though, and then added, “not yet.”

“You mean not anymore, right? Bet you were all over each other before I turned up”, Tara chuckled.

“Nah, you forget they were having a domestic”, Liam said, pointing with his pint.

“When’s that ever stopped Harry?” Tara laughed. Louis rolled his eyes at her, but Harry leaned closer to his ear.

“Want you so fucking much right now”, he whispered, making Louis blush a bit, and bury his smile in his pint.

“Oh god, I really don’t want to hear what they’re whispering”, Liam shook his head. Louis caught Niall’s eyes as Harry continued, however. Niall turned his gaze to Tara with a blush.

“Want you to fuck me so hard I can’t sit down tomorrow”, Harry was whispering. Louis tried to keep his face normal.

“So this is how you spend your evenings, then? Sitting in a pub, talking mostly about sexual stuff and being couple-y”, Niall asked with a grin. Tara and Liam laughed at him.

“Not always”, Liam said.

“What he means is we’re not always in a pub. Otherwise, yes”, Tara said. Niall grinned with them, and Louis was biting his lip as he tried to ignore the filthy things Harry kept whispering into his ear.

“God, just shut up already”, he breathed out as he gave in and turned his head to pull Harry into a snog. Harry giggled into it.

“Obnoxious”, Liam said.

“You’re just sad I’m sitting on the other side of the table”, Tara grinned.

Louis pushed Harry away with a “hold that thought”, and with Harry pouting at him, he just launched into a story he’d wanted to tell Liam about a mutual friend of theirs. Harry was sitting closer now, however, and Louis’ hand was on his thigh.

Finally starting to really feel better, Louis felt like he was being more bubbly again, and even started to talk to Niall a bit.

 

The instant they stepped in the door, Louis’ lips were on Harry’s. The boys pushed and pulled each other into the bedroom, all the while kissing and touching everything they could reach, discarding their clothes along the way.

“He is cute, though”, Louis mumbled.

“Like, he has a cute little face with sparkly eyes and an absolutely fuckable mouth”, Louis groaned, making Harry moan louder. The two of them collapsed on the bed, Louis on top. He pulled off their remaining clothes – his socks and Harry’s pants, and knelt down between Harry’s legs in the process.

“Bet you’d love to shove your prick into Niall’s mouth”, Louis whispered. Harry just whimpered as Louis took his straining cock in and swallowed it down.

“Fuck yes”, Harry breathed.

Louis often included talk about Harry’s crushes in their bedroom; he didn’t usually find them so intimidating. But Niall seemed different, and now that Louis had met him, he really felt even more intimidated. Right now, though, this was all HarryandLouis, and he felt safe and secure, confident with sex.

“He’s bloody perfect. Kind of innocent looking, but with hidden talents”, Louis breathed, and Harry moaned again. Louis teased him with kitten licks and nibbles.

“God, his hands”, Harry whimpered, “always nibbling on something, just like you.” Louis felt something warm in his chest. He did see similarities between himself and Niall. They were both chatty, both needed something to do with their hands all the time, nibbling on coasters and bottle labels. And being tactile was kind of true, too, even though Harry was the more tactile one, always cuddling with everyone, while Louis basically just touched Harry, Liam and Zayn, and Tara.

Louis reached for the tube of lube they kept on the bedside table, coated his fingers with the stuff, and put one inside Harry as he swallowed him down once more, making Harry whimper and buck his hips.

“Wanna fuck that mouth while he fingers you?” Louis asked breathlessly, when he was pounding two fingers into Harry. Harry moaned, and arched almost off the bed when Louis added a third finger. Louis was avoiding Harry’s prostate, and Harry writhed and begged Louis to give him more.

After lubing himself up, Louis slid right in. He didn’t stop to wait for Harry to adjust, but he started off small and gentle, until Harry managed to smack his arse and tell him to move it. Grinning, he set a harsh pace, one that made Harry hoarse from moaning.

“You want him to fuck you like this? Maybe while I watch and give him instructions?” Louis asked breathlessly, when he felt his own orgasm start to build up. Harry just let out a loud shout and started coming, milking Louis to completion as well.

“God I love you, Lou”, were Harry’s first words after some much needed catching of breath. Louis chuckled.

“Me too”, he said.

 

Niall became a permanent fixture in their outings from there on, and Louis could deal with his jealousy better and better each time. Niall was there for Liam’s birthday, and for various other outings and staying in for the evenings. He crashed over even at Louis and Harry’s place a time or two, usually with others but once by himself, and it wasn’t even that awkward in the morning, even if Harry was making smoothies and fruit salads just in his boxers when both Louis and Niall wandered into the kitchen in their sweatpants.

Niall was there when Zayn’s girlfriend broke up with him, too, and kind of became the official consoler for him for a bit. And Niall was there when, a couple of weeks later, Zayn blurted out something surprising.

“Which one of you tops?” Zayn asked, fiddling with his beer bottle, sitting in the middle of the sofa, in between Harry and Louis. Niall was sitting in between Harry’s legs, getting a shoulder massage, and Liam was on the floor in front of Louis, Tara sitting in the arm chair on that side.

“Depends”, Harry answered, as if this was a completely normal question. Louis supposed, in present company, it was.

“I mean, I’ve seen you do both”, Zayn said, earning some laughs, “but which do you prefer?” Louis met Harry’s eyes and grinned.

“I don’t know, Harry, which do you prefer?” he asked. Harry pulled back from the massage at that point, as Niall and Liam turned around a bit to better listen to the conversation.

“Depends. Last night it was bottoming, but I’ve a feeling next time I might enjoy topping”, Harry said. Everyone laughed at that, even Zayn.

“Seems to me I’m going to enjoy bottoming next, then”, Louis said, nodding thoughtfully.

“What about you, Niall?” Harry asked with a grin, and Louis’ heart skipped a beat. He tried not to let it show.

“I think I might like topping more. Depends on the mood and well, the other person too, though”, Niall said with a grin, “I’ve bottomed more often. People tend to assume, and usually I’m fine with that.”

“Just out of curiosity, what did you assume of us, Zee?” Louis asked with a grin.

“I would’ve said Harry’d do anything, but Lou would be the top, for sure”, Tara said with a grin, “but that was before I’ve heard all the stories and seen the action.”

“I guess most people tend to assume Lou’s the top”, Liam nodded.

“What about you two, then?” Harry grinned at them. Liam flushed and Tara just laughed.

“You know I like to be on top. Doesn’t have the same meaning as yours, though, does it”, she said. Harry winked at her.

“Thought you might not have preferences, actually. Thought Ni might prefer topping, though. Just because it seems like people tend to assume he’s a bottom”, Zayn said quietly.

“So what brought this line of questioning on?” Harry asked, nudging Zayn’s side a bit. Zayn didn’t even react, just went with it.

“There’s um… this guy”, Zayn said.

“Really?” Louis grinned and cheered.

“He, um… he said he’s a top. I kind of… don’t know if I’m a bottom”, Zayn said.

“Did you do it?” Harry asked, sounding worried. Zayn shook his head.

“Not yet. But I do want to. Just don’t know if I’m ready to bottom”, he said quietly. Louis leaned in to give his cheek a peck, and Harry did the same on the other side.

“Want us to teach you?” Louis asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Zayn just rolled his eyes at them, chuckling a little and looking a bit more at ease.

“You’ve tried fingers, yeah?” Louis made sure. Everybody laughed at Liam’s cut off groan. Zayn nodded, though.

“I’d let you borrow a dildo but you’d probably want an unused one”, Harry pointed out. Liam groaned again, but this time Zayn groaned as well.

“God, I don’t know why I felt so insecure about this that I actually asked you”, he said, chuckling.

“It’ll be fine. Practice a bit beforehand, and if you really, really don’t enjoy it, just say no”, Louis said rubbing Zayn’s arm a bit. He met Harry’s eyes and nodded at him, and Harry nodded back.

Turning to Zayn, Harry lifted his fingers up to Zayn’s chin and gently turned his face towards himself, then leaned in for a soft kiss on the lips. Zayn responded a little, and when he chuckled and closed his eyes, one hand coming up to Harry’s bicep, Harry dove in, and the two of them kissed properly for a minute.

“Yeah, no, not doing it, Harry’s the only man for me”, Zayn said when they pulled back. Harry giggled, and Louis felt so much love for him at that moment, he could hardly contain it. That shy, happy smile was to die for. He put out an arm and took hold of Harry’s lapels, pulling him in for a kiss over Zayn.

“Quite jealous, that Lou”, Niall commented, but the others just laughed.

“Hardly”, Tara said, “you saw how hot that was.” Niall chuckled, and when Louis turned his head away from Harry, he grinned at him.

“Basically Harry has a crush on everybody he meets, and Louis loves that Harry loves people”, Tara explained. Louis’ heart skipped another beat, thinking Niall must realise Harry has a crush on him.

Just then Zayn pinched him a bit, and gave him a wet kiss on the mouth.

“Thanks, both of you. All of you”, he said.

 

In time, however, Louis started to notice a change in Harry. He was more irritable, which made Louis more irritable. Harry was also turning down sex, which didn’t usually happen often. He was distant, more distant than usually when stressed. And apparently it showed.

“OK, come on lads, what’s wrong?” Liam asked, sitting down on Harry’s lap. Zayn sat down on Louis’ at the same time, making it impossible for either one of them to get up from their ends of the sofa.

Louis just turned his gaze away and started pinching Zayn, until Zayn caught hold of both his hands.

“Guys seriously, we can see something’s been horribly wrong for a while”, Tara said, standing in front of the sofa with hands on her hips. Niall was standing next to her, looking unsure and worried, and that’s probably what made Harry speak up.

“It’s nothing”, he said. That made Louis scoff. They’d argued about silly things all morning and all afternoon, before everyone came over. By that time, neither one was speaking to the other.

“You haven’t fucked in a week”, Liam said.

“How do you know that?” Niall asked with a surprised laugh.

“After so many years of knowing Louis? I know when he hasn’t had any for a day”, Liam said with a chuckle.

“Seriously?” Niall asked, eyes huge. There was a silence, and then Niall broke it, clearly now trying to make everyone loosen up a bit.

“Can you tell when he’s been wanking, too?” he asked. That almost made Louis burst out laughing along with Tara, Liam and Zayn. But Louis just bit his nails, after wrestling his hands free from Zayn, and glanced at Harry.

“Reckon I can, actually”, Liam said, putting an arm around Harry’s shoulders and settling in, “but that’s private.”

“What about any of this is private any longer? Or has ever been?” Louis asked, unable to keep the hurt from his voice.

“You’re the one always airing all the dirty laundry in front of others”, Harry scoffed. Louis bit his lip and turned to look away. There was a silence, and then Niall was excusing himself for the loo.

“You’re more honest in front of others”, Louis said quietly.

“More honest? More honest, seriously?! Lou, I’ve never ever lied to you, and I never will. I’ve never been any less honest”, Harry yelled.

“Well you haven’t basically exchanged two words with me for weeks, unless in front of others!” Louis shouted. He could feel tears prickling behind his eyes, but he pushed them back.

“I’ve had some things on my mind, OK? You know I’ll tell you as soon as I figure it out”, Harry said, sounding almost sheepish.

“It’s Niall, isn’t it”, Louis said after a short silence. He hated how insecure and small his voice sounded. Zayn and Liam got up from their laps at that point, both still keeping a hand on the boys’ shoulders.

“It’s that fucking stupid crush you’ve got on him, and you’re gonna— “, Louis said, lifting a hand on his eyes.

“It’s— “, Harry started to say, but Louis turned back to him, meeting his eyes, and it fucking hurt, the way Harry’s gaze shied away.

“Shut the fuck up, Harry. You’re in bloody love with Niall, and— “, Louis bit out, but he was interrupted by a small sound from behind the sofa. Glancing up, he found the others staring back there, and he and Harry also turned to look back. Niall was standing in the doorway, staring at them, but honestly, Louis just didn’t care anymore.

“I’m gonna go”, Niall said, sounding devastated.

“No, Ni— “, Harry started to say, and that did it for Louis. He shot up from the sofa, and since Niall was basically blocking the way to the bedrooms, he stormed into the kitchen, barely registering Liam following him.

“No, I should go. I never-- , I don’t want to come in between anything. I’ll… I’ll get another job or something”, Niall was saying, but apparently Zayn stopped him at the front door.

“Niall, shut up”, he said. There were footsteps, and then the spare bedroom door closing, all the while Louis was sitting on the kitchen floor back to the fridge, with Liam next to him.

After some hushed conversation, Tara lead a distraught-looking Harry into the kitchen by his arm, roughly, and deposited him on the floor in front of Louis. Then she proceeded to pull Liam out of the kitchen.

“I love you”, were Harry’s first words, and Louis couldn’t help but glance up at him incredulously.

“I do. It’s just, lately— “, Harry started to say, then he dropped his head, ran his hand through his hair and let out a long breath.

“Yeah, I’ve fallen for him more than ever for anyone except you”, Harry confessed.

“You’re breaking up with me”, Louis said quietly, and Harry’s face shot up at that, his eyes shocked.

“No, never, Lou, I love you”, he said. Louis felt like he could breathe a little easier at that.

“Louis, no”, Harry repeated, gathering Louis in his arms as the tears finally started spilling, Louis’ voice shaking as he asked for confirmation.

“I don’t want to leave you. It’s just, I can’t deny those feelings either. It’s not a crush that’ll go away with a snog”, Harry said quietly, as he cradled Louis in his arms.

“What does that mean?” Louis spluttered, burrowing further into Harry’s lap.

“Like, selfishly, I’d want to have him like I have you. But selflessly, I’d just settle for him being happy. It’s just that he isn’t. He’s lonely and unhappy, and I want to fix that, but I can’t since I’m already with you. And I’m not saying I’m even entertaining an option of leaving you, ever. But I’ve been trying to wreck my brain on who I could set him up with or how I could make him happy otherwise”, Harry said. And since Louis was incapable of speech at the moment, he continued.

“And I’ve been really confused and trying to sort out how I even have that kind of love inside me for two people at the same time, I mean I never even thought that was possible, and of course it’s not as strong for him now, but after more time with him it probably will be”, Harry was trying to explain.

“Can we just talk about it later?” Louis asked. He didn’t have the strength to think about what all that meant, after being sure Harry wanted to leave him, for weeks now. It took a moment, but then Harry was squeezing him even tighter.

“Oh, god, you’ve seriously been thinking I’d leave you. Lou, no, that’ll never happen”, Harry breathed into his ear, then started to kiss his cheek and mouth, until he responded and pulled him into a proper kiss.

When Louis had calmed down a little, and managed to wipe his tears away, harry helped him up and just held him for a while.

“So, Niall cried himself to sleep”, Zayn said then, from the doorway. Both Louis and Harry’s heads snapped his way, both shocked.

“Is he OK?” Harry asked.

“Of course not”, Zayn said matter-of-factly.

“He thinks he’s ruined your relationship”, he continued.

“Oh, Christ”, Harry said, rubbing his temples.

“And he basically thinks he’s the worst person ever, to like Harry and let it show so much”, Zayn said.

“So I wasn’t just imagining that he was checking me out too”, Harry said.

“God, are you blind?” Louis muttered.

“In any case, I think we’re gonna go now, if you’re both OK again. Please take care of Niall when he wakes up. I mean, he really needs a chat with you two”, Zayn said, “he thought he would have to quit and move away, and never be in contact with any of us again. He kept asking me to go back to my friends. He didn’t seem to get I wasn’t choosing sides before he’d been crying in my lap for a long while.”

“We’ll talk to him”, Louis said quietly.

“And you are OK now?” Zayn made sure, Liam and Tara showing up behind him, already dressed to go.

“Yeah, we are. Should’ve just opened my mouth sooner”, Harry said. Zayn nodded, and they all exchanged hugs before the three of them left and Harry and Louis went hand in hand into the bedroom.

 

“So, you want to, like… bring him in?” Louis asked. Harry smiled tiredly at him.

“I wouldn’t ask that of you”, he said. But Louis brushed away a stray hair on his forehead.

“You want to kiss him. You want to fuck him. You want to be there for him. And it seems like he’d want that, too. We’ve done it before”, he said.

“With someone I had way less feelings for, yeah. And that wasn’t more than sex, basically”, Harry pointed out.

“Well, we don’t know what he’d want, do we? I’m just saying, it’s fine with me if you do whatever, just as long as it happens with me there too. And I already know you want everything and whatever you can get with him. And you already have all that with me. So next step is asking him”, Louis said. Harry surged forward to kiss him.

“I love you so, so much, Lou”, he said.

The two of them had gentle, quiet sex, fell asleep next to each other, and woke up next morning to footsteps in the flat.

“Fuck, is he leaving?” Louis asked, and had to laugh at how Harry’s eyes widened and he jumped out of bed just to stumble out of the room naked.

“Niall! Don’t go!” he was shouting, and Louis heard a “bloody hell!” from somewhere, no doubt Niall’s reaction to Harry’s nudeness.

Louis stepped out after Harry, having pulled his joggers on and grabbed a pair of Harry’s in his hand.

“You’re scaring him”, he pointed out as he passed the joggers to Harry and took in the scene. Niall was standing at the door, fully dressed and one shoe on, with his hands on his eyes.

“Oh my god”, Niall was repeating, and Harry was basically trying to rub the sleep from his eyes, and now pulling on his joggers.

“Niall, come sit down for a bit. Harry will make us breakfast again”, Louis said, reaching Niall and taking his arm. Niall was shaking his head, eyes closed.

“And you can open your eyes, he’s decent”, Louis said with a laugh. Niall didn’t, not before they were sitting down and he heard Harry start taking out ingredients.

“So. Sorry about last night”, Louis started.

“No, I’m sorry”, Niall said with a deep red blush.

“Oh, god, you’re adorable when you blush”, Louis chuckled, ruffling his hair. Niall stared at him, confused.

“You’re OK then?” Niall asked after a bit. Louis glanced at Harry, and Harry turned around long enough to flash a smile at them.

“We’re just fine. Nothing’ll break us up, you know”, Harry said.

“Niall”, Louis said after a bit. Niall lifted his gaze from the table.

“You’ve a crush on Harry, right?” Louis asked. Niall’s eyes shot back to the table, and he blushed again. Harry put a glass of water in front of him, and he drained it instantly.

“It’s OK, Ni”, Harry said quietly, and Louis noticed how Niall’s hands were shaking. He put his on top of them and waited for Niall’s face to turn up at him again.

“It’s completely OK”, he said. So Niall swallowed and nodded.

“I like you both”, he confessed. Louis’ eyes widened.

“Really?” he asked. He hadn’t even entertained that possibility, though he had entertained ideas of Niall naked and sweaty and in their bed, even without Harry there. Fantasies were fantasies, right? Harry just chuckled.

“Lou, your arse is like, perfect, and you still don’t believe people stare at it”, he said, sitting down after getting all of them something to eat. They ate in silence for a bit.

“Well, that might help things”, Louis said with a tilt of his head. There was further silence.

“What you said last night— “, Niall asked, looking like he wanted to stop himself from speaking.

“Harry’s in love with you, yeah”, Louis said. Niall couldn’t stop a quick look at Harry.

“I am”, Harry nodded.

“And it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me”, Louis continued.

“It doesn’t”, Harry nodded again.

“And we’ve done that before, like, invited someone in that Harry’s had a crush on, just so I’m there to see and sometimes join in, but, you know, it could be whatever. As long as I’m there too”, Louis said.

“What are you saying?” Niall asked, looking shocked.

“If you wanted to, there could be some snogging in your immediate future”, Louis said, grinning at Harry.

“Immediate future?” Niall asked.

“Like, in seconds, since I can see Harry there is completely dying for a taste of your lips at the moment”, Louis said. Niall turned towards him and then back again, still looking shocked.

“And you—, you’d be in charge or something?” Niall asked.

“I’m not in charge of what Harry does. He’s his own person. As are you. But this needs to be completely consensual on all three parts, if we do this”, Louis said.

“And it could be… more than snogging?” Niall asked quietly.

“More than sex even, if you wanted”, Louis said, with a glance at Harry. Harry smiled bright and wide at him. Niall stared at his plate, then lifted his head up again, eyes trained on Louis.

“I thought you hated me. Or didn’t like me at all, at least”, he said. Louis bit his lip and shook his head.

“You’re often, like, short and clipped with me, and chatty and smiling towards the others. And you’re never alone in the room with me, and rarely sit close to me”, Niall said.

“I’ve just been bloody jealous. Still am, but now that Harry and I had a proper chat about it, it’s fine.”

“How are you so jealous when you say you’ve invited Harry’s crushes in before and the ones I’ve witnessed you’re fine with?” Niall asked. Louis shrugged.

“This crush was bigger than usual. I mean, it’s happened before and I’m often initially jealous anyway. But then it wasn’t going away at all, and what was even more worrying was the fact that Harry didn’t mention snogging you. I mean, he did, but he didn’t ask for it like he usually does. The crushes usually go away with that, you see. So I’ve been under the impression that this crush was huge, which it is, and that he wanted more with you than with others, which he does. So what I thought was that he’d been lying when he still said he loved me, when clearly he was falling for you”, he said. Harry made a little whimper at that, and gave a worried pout when Louis met his eyes. But Louis just chuckled.

“So last night he set me straight and here we are. I’m fine with adding you to the mix. I’ve never hated you. I hated the fact that I liked you even though I wanted to hate you. So, yeah, I’m… OK with everything as long as I’m there to see”, he said. Niall glanced shyly at Harry at that, face reddening adorably. Harry grinned and put his hand on Niall’s thigh.

“He really is fine with it. He just needs some reassurance. I mean, if you decide to do this, you’re joining in from the outside into a dynamic you already know… but you’ll be changing things for us”, he said. Niall nodded, biting his lip and glancing back and forth between the two of them once.

“Even if I say yes, can we not, like, snog right now?” he asked quietly, eyes on Harry this time. Louis frowned a bit, but Harry just smiled and took his hand from Niall’s knee to his hair.

“Of course, we’ll carry on normally and just, you know, be like we’ve just started dating. This is not a one-night kind of deal”, he said. Louis made a small sound when he understood what was being said, making the others turn his way.

“God, no, not a one-night thing. And you can, like, go on actual dates too, if you like. Like, without me. As long as no snogging happens without me there. Like how Harry behaves normally, basically. You know, some PDA that confuses people of all our relationships. Like him not being able to keep his hands to himself when Liam wears those really tight skinny jeans”, Louis said. He and Harry giggled at that, and it loosened the atmosphere a bit.

“What are these famous skinny jeans anyway? I mean, I’ve heard you all talk about them but so far there’s been no reaction to anything he’s worn”, Niall said with a small grin.

“It’s more the combination of skinny jeans and the top. I mean, they’re the black ones. I think all his others are dark grey and blue, but the black ones he usually wears with like a tee and a hoodie. Now, when he’s dressing it up a bit, he goes for like a three-piece suit with those jeans as the bottom, or a sheer dress shirt or something. Harry goes crazy with that shit”, Louis grinned.

“His arse is like Lou’s but he just hides it under sagging jeans, usually”, Harry said with a small grin of his own.

The three of them went on with their breakfast like nothing serious had been discussed. Louis was sensing Niall needed some reflection time, and he did say so as he started to leave.

“Well, lads, it’s been an incredibly illuminating night and morning, but kind of a draining one, too. I’m completely knackered, and I reckon I’m going to sleep for the next 48 hours at least”, he said as he was putting on his shoes. Louis was leaning back into Harry’s chest, Harry’s arms loosely around his middle, like usual. Harry was making them sway a bit on the spot.

“So, um… I’ll probably see you in a few days, yeah?” Niall said then, awkwardly.

“Take as long as you need, Ni”, Harry said gently, and Niall nodded and, with a nervous smile, left. Louis turned around in Harry’s arms and pulled him into a deep kiss.

 

It took Niall a week, and he missed a couple of movie and game nights with the lads. Zayn didn’t seem surprised, but Liam was confused when he didn’t show up on the first night, and after finding out what was going on, he was worried when he didn’t show up the next time either. The third time, he did.

It was Friday night, and since Harry had been seeing him around at work, trying to avoid him a bit, he’d apparently let him know he’d be showing up that night.

When he did, he was welcomed with open arms by Harry, Zayn, and Louis. A while later, Tara and Liam showed up as well, on their way somewhere else even later so they were all dolled up. When Louis led Liam into the living room, he knew what reaction he would get from Harry.

“Oh fuck”, came Harry’s loud exclamation. Zayn and Niall glanced up at that, but while Niall’s eyes first turned to Harry, Zayn’s went straight to Liam’s legs, and he burst out laughing.

“Nice, now we have to deal with Harry’s boner all evening”, he grinned. Liam grinned back and went to sit next to him while Tara sat in an armchair and Louis took his place next to Harry. Niall was in the other armchair, and Zayn on Harry’s other side, so Liam had to walk past Harry to get to Zayn’s other side. When he did, Harry skimmed his hand along his arse and thigh, looking completely mesmerized. Niall was laughing along with the others, now.

“Like you don’t have a boner, too”, Liam said to Zayn as he sat down.

“Everyone here has a boner, Liam”, Tara said with a grin.

“If this get up is so incredible, how come you let your boyfriend out to parties wearing it?” Liam asked her with a pout. Tara grinned.

“So I can slip my hand in your back pocket and everyone’ll know how lucky I am”, she said. The pair of them exchanged loving grins, and then Liam turned back to the others, his and everyone’s eyes on Harry, who was still staring at Liam’s crotch with his hand stuck out and jaw dropped.

“You’re drooling, honey”, Zayn informed him, swiping his finger on the corner of Harry’s mouth.

“So these are the famous jeans, then”, Niall said with a laugh and a head shake.

“Stand up, stand up”, Harry pleaded, and Liam laughed and stood up, doing a little turn. Harry moaned and abruptly pulled Louis into his lap so Louis’ drink sloshed a bit.

Louis let out a yelp, and then settled comfortably into Harry’s growing boner.

“You don’t need to hide it”, Zayn pointed out, “we all know it.”

“Wait, really? Seriously?” Niall asked with an incredulous grin.

“Really, seriously”, Tara said.

“This isn’t the only thing to get a reaction like this from him”, Liam protested as he sat down, making Harry crane his neck to see and let out a disappointed noise.

“Why, what else does this? This is the first time I’ve seen it”, Niall asked with a grin.

“Hmm, certain actors in certain movies, which is why we’re not allowed to watch them as a group any more”, Tara mused.

“Why? If you’re not bothered by that now?” Niall asked, gesturing to Harry who was now leaning his head back, covering his face.

“Since we went to the movies and Lou gave him a hand job in the middle of a full movie theatre on opening night?” Zayn said. Everybody laughed.

“It was barely a touch, through the jeans!” Louis protested.

“Everyone in the whole row noticed when he came! I’m just thankful he was able to keep quiet”, Liam laughed.

“Shut up shut up shut up, I’m trying to will it away”, Harry moaned, and everybody chuckled.

“Pulling me into your lap has never helped with that, love”, Louis grinned, sipping his beer and shifting his hips just a little. Harry was only growing harder now, and Louis was doing his best not to get a boner, too.

“Stop it!” Harry whined.

“So, like, which actor was that? I feel like I should know this, if— “, Niall started to say, causing both Louis and Harry’s eyes to snap to him.

“You’re saying yes?” Harry asked, sounding desperate at that point. Niall blushed a little, and then nodded.

“I guess I’m saying yes”, he said. Harry immediately pushed Louis off of his lap.

“Hey! Stop moving me around!” Louis complained, laughing, cheeks heating up from Niall’s words. Harry gathered his legs up on the sofa to cover himself up instead.

“Why’d you do that if you’re not done willing it away?” Tara asked with a laugh.

“And yes to what?” Liam asked, sounding confused again, but Zayn and Tara just looked at him like they couldn’t believe how stupid he was.

“Oh”, Liam said then.

“Because all sexual touching has to be consensual”, Harry said, burying his face in his knees.

“I’m pretty sure that was consensual”, Zayn said with a grin.

“Consensual to all three”, Harry said, shaking his head. Louis glanced at Niall at his sharp intake of breath.

“You’re… you’re serious? You’re, like, not going to have sex with Lou tonight?” Niall asked, looking amazed.

“Of course not”, Louis said, “and it’s all your fault I’m not getting any.” He grinned, but his grin faltered when he saw Niall’s eyes get shiny and he ducked his head.

“What is it, love?” Tara asked gently causing Harry’s head to snap up to Niall as well.

“You never said that”, Niall mumbled. Louis’ eyes widened and he scrambled up, shoving his drink on the table as he knelt in front of Niall.

“You thought it’d be like we were together and you two were having an affair or something, didn’t you?” he asked, leaning onto Niall’s thighs. Niall nodded, clearly fighting back tears, fiddling with the chair he was sitting in.

“No, love, no. Nothing will happen without you present, or without your permission”, Louis said, lifting his hand to Niall’s cheek. He stroked it a bit, smiling, coaxing a smile and an embarrassed huff of laughter out of Niall.

“That’s one of the things I had to think on, you know. Like, how it would feel like being a mistress or something. You two living and sleeping together and like— “, Niall said. Louis shut him up shaking his head.

“Harry’s moving to Zayn’s for a bit. We’ve talked about it all, you know”, he said.

“But— “, Niall said with a shaky voice.

“It’ll be exciting, you know, starting a new relationship with someone I’ve been in one for years with”, Louis said with a grin.

“It’ll be a lot of wanking in my bed, that’s what it’ll be”, Zayn scoffed.

“Nothing it hasn’t seen before”, Louis commented with a grin at him.

“It hasn’t seen a wanking Harry in it before”, Zayn said, taking a sip, then spluttering at Louis’ grin.

“No, Lou, no”, he exclaimed, “no bloody sex in my bed!”

“Oh god, they’ve done it in ours, too, haven’t they?” Liam asked Tara, who just nodded solemnly.

Niall let out a long breath and Louis’ attention turned to him again. There was a teary smile on his face, and Louis couldn’t help but lean up and kiss Niall on the lips gently.

Harry let out a strangled sound and Louis turned to look just as he was scrambling up, almost tripping over his feet as he hurried into the toilet.

“He was still hard?” Liam asked, looking confused. Zayn rolled his eyes at him.

“He was basically wanking already; didn’t you notice the sofa shaking?” he asked.

“I noticed”, Tara said with a grin.

Louis had barely wiped Niall’s tears and sat back down onto the sofa with his drink when Harry returned, looking much more relaxed.

“Already?” Liam asked incredulously. Harry scoffed.

“Like I haven’t seen you cream your pants to a couple of sexts from Tara”, he said. Liam blushed, but Tara just grinned viciously.

“Just have to send the right kind of pictures”, she said in a sing-song voice. Sitting down and grabbing his drink, Harry grinned and nodded.

“Yeah, I know”, he said, winking at Louis, who just rolled his eyes at him.

“So, you all set to go to mine later on, then?” Zayn asked, expecting Harry to go pack a bag, probably. Harry frowned at him.

“Do I need something other than my laptop and toothbrush?” he asked. Zayn rolled his eyes.

“A change of clothes, maybe? Or at least something to sleep in”, he said.

“Why?” Harry asked.

“You’re not sleeping next to me naked”, Zayn complained, then added, “again.”

“Why not? Seemed to enjoy it last time”, Harry said.

“Think of your boyfriends!” Zayn exclaimed, and Louis sneaked a glance at Niall, who was blushing again.

“What about them?” Harry asked, glancing at them both, making Louis smile.

“Don’t they have a say in that?” Liam asked.

“I don’t mind”, Louis was quick to say.

“So I have a say in it?” Niall was asking, then, sounding unsure and shy. Harry turned to him, and Louis followed his example.

“Of course you do”, Harry said, trying to sound serious and sincere. Niall bit his lip.

“Then you’re not sleeping next to Zayn naked”, he said. Harry froze.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, you just came”, Zayn muttered, staring at Harry’s crotch. Harry scrambled up, adjusting himself a bit before making his way to the bedroom.

“I’m packing a bag”, he announced, then popped his head out, “not wanking at all in here.”

“Yeah, right”, Zayn mumbled, and everybody laughed again.

“Seriously, though, he really can get it up again that fast?” Tara asked, looking amazed. Louis grinned.

“Yep”, he said, popping the P, “It’s been handy on many occasions.”

Glancing at Niall, he found the man blushing a bit, staring at the bedroom door. Harry re-emerged, placing his overnight bag in the foyer before sitting back down.

“That was fast”, Zayn commented, and Harry bopped him on the forehead.

“I’ll leave the wanking to your bed tonight”, he said, earning a grimace.

“I usually sleep naked, though, it’s going to be way too hot and hard to get to sleep”, Harry pouted, glancing at Niall. Niall just grinned at him.

“I don’t mind, you know. Was just testing the effect I had on your decisions”, he said. Harry frowned as everybody laughed.

“And anyway, with Zayn in the same bed, you’re going to be way too hot and hard to get so sleep at all”, Louis commented with a grin. Harry sighed and turned to Zayn.

“I’m breaking up with them”, he announced, “let’s make it hot and hard.” Zayn grinned at him.

“I know you want me, Harry, but I know you’re not going to do anything to jeopardize your relationship with these lads”, he said, pecking Harry’s cheek. Harry sighed deeply.

“Sucks that now I have two people I need to ask permission from before snogging you again”, he said. Louis grinned.

“That night a couple of months back wasn’t enough?” he asked.

“Louis!” Harry whined.

“What?!” Liam exclaimed. Zayn was grinning as well though.

“That was a great night, thanks, Lou”, he said with a wink.

“Wait, what?” Niall and Tara both asked.

“A couple of months back, like, when Zayn broke up with that guy?” Tara asked. Louis nodded.

“You were supposed to keep it a secret”, Harry pouted. Louis petted his curls and grinned.

“I think now Niall’s in on this he has the right to know just how far you’ve gone with your mates”, he said. Harry glanced at Niall looking desperate.

“That’s true”, he said, “I’m sorry.”

“I think I’m going to enjoy hearing this”, Niall said with a grin, leaning forward in his chair. Tara did as well, with a “hey!” from Liam.

“So yeah I’ve snogged Liam”, Harry said, the inclined his head, “And Tara, but she’s the only girl ever.”

Niall looked at Tara, surprised.

“And I’ve blown Zayn”, Harry said then, causing Liam, Tara and Niall’s heads to whip back to Harry and Zayn, who was grinning, now.

“Wasn’t half bad, though. Congrats, Niall”, Zayn said with a wink and a sip of his drink.

“What, like as consolation for the break up?” Liam asked, turning to Tara, “I want to break up. I’ve heard amazing things about Harry’s tongue.” Everybody laughed.

“No, not like that. Harry’s been wanting it for ages, but we thought Zayn was more or less straight, and anyway he’s been mostly taken, so— “, Louis said.

“So I had to wait until Zee was single again, to suggest it”, Harry said.

“Suggest it? You two showed up on my doorstep basically two days after finding out, and you nearly didn’t ask before diving in my pants”, Zayn scoffed.

“We did ask”, Louis pointed out to the others. Zayn grinned.

“Yeah OK”, he admitted.

“Then you just blew him and left?” Tara asked. Harry shrugged.

“Um, we blew him”, he pointed out. Louis rolled his eyes.

“I had a taste, yeah, but it was all you otherwise”, he said.

“How was it?” Niall asked, sounding nonchalant, sipping his drink. Harry grinned his way.

“I mean, look at him, he’s bound to be gorgeous and delicious”, he said. Niall chuckled.

“Doesn’t look delicious to me”, Liam said, eyeing Zayn.

“Imagine he has a pussy”, Tara said.

“And tits?” Niall asked. Louis, Harry and Zayn shook their heads, though.

“Just the wet, gaping hole is enough to do Liam in”, Louis said.

“Yuck”, Harry supplied. Everybody laughed at that. Liam was eyeing Zayn with narrowed eyes.

“Ok, like, with some tits and long hair, yeah I could see that happening”, Liam said, sipping his drink.

“You’ve seen him in a skirt, Li”, Tara pointed out. Liam’s face split in a huge grin.

“Oh yeah, that was amazing”, he said.

“What?” Niall asked with a laugh.

“Zayn borrowed his sisters’ clothes one Halloween, and he had a wig on, too”, Louis said with a laugh.

“And like, fake tits and glasses and all”, Liam said, looking at Zayn appreciatively now.

“The whole secretary look, yeah”, Zayn grinned.

“I had to dress up like that for Liam afterwards”, Tara pointed out. Liam spluttered as everyone laughed, but then Tara shook her head.

“Just joking, but Zayn did look hot as a girl”, she said.

“He wasn’t wearing lingerie though”, Harry said with a pout.

“You checked?” Tara asked with a laugh.

“Of course he did, you’ve seen Louis in lingerie, he wanted to see if I live up to that”, Zayn said with a grin. Louis glanced at Niall when he spluttered a bit.

“Louis in lingerie?” he asked with wide eyes. Suddenly Louis felt warm all over. Niall had said he liked him, too. And while Louis wasn’t exactly sure if he liked Niall in a romantic way, there was definitely some sexual attraction going on. So he shoved his drink at Harry, stood up and lifted his shirt with one hand as he pushed down his jeans with one, just a bit. Just so the lacy edge of his hot blue panties showed. Niall stared at it, his gaze fixed on the spot even as Louis sat back down all covered up again.

“Which ones are you wearing?” Harry asked with a grin.

“Blue ones”, Louis said, making Harry groan and lean on Zayn’s shoulder.

“You’re killing me. Sorry, Zayn, but I am definitely going to wank tonight”, he said. Everybody laughed. Louis smirked.

“I’m thinking we don’t need to take this thing horribly slow”, Niall said, eyes still fixed on Louis’ jeans. Louis grinned at him.

“Wanna go out tomorrow, Ni?” Harry asked. Niall nodded.

“Definitely”, he said, making everyone laugh.

“Movie, dinner, good night kiss?” Harry asked with a grin. Niall nodded, and Louis saw a shy smile and a blush spread on both their faces, making him feel warm and happy inside.

“Sounds like a plan”, Niall said.

“Not the newest Bond or Star Wars, though”, Liam said, “unless you want things to go very, very fast.”

“Really? I mean, sure, Daniel Craig but, what, Harrison Ford?” Niall asked. Everybody laughed.

“Mark Hamill, you idiot”, Harry scoffed.

“He’s old now! And he’s in the movie for like two seconds, and doesn’t even have any lines”, Niall laughed.

“Have you seen his eyes? God. And Kylo Ren is hot as long as he keeps his helmet on. And then there’s all that chemistry between Finn and Poe, and… ” Harry sighed.

“OK so I’m thinking Inside out or something. Is that still in cinemas?” Niall laughed.

“That might be safe enough”, Louis chuckled, “you should go see that.”

“You’re not coming?” Niall asked with a small frown. Louis looked up, surprised.

“I, um… didn’t think so?” he glanced at both boys.

“It’s up to Niall. Would be nice to go out just the two of us, but I’m not opposed to Lou tagging along either”, Harry said quietly. Niall bit his lip.

“I just assumed Lou’d be there, I… I’d like it to be the two of us, maybe”, he said, looking straight at Harry.

“Don’t worry”, Louis said as Liam and Tara got up to go to their party. After Tara passed, Louis pulled Liam into his lap.

“I’ll have Li show up here in these jeans while you’re out”, Louis said, grinding up a bit, making Liam squeal.

“Ugh, Louis, I’ve told you to quit that!” Liam whimpered.

“I’m not even hard this time!” Louis laughed.

“Stop scarring him mentally”, Tara grinned and helped Liam back up. Louis glanced at Niall and Harry, noticing Harry’s eyes were glued to Liam again, and Niall was looking at Harry, amused.

“In the shower, Harry. Not in my bed. And clean up after yourself. Properly, this time”, Zayn commented, taking a sip. Harry groaned.

After Liam and Tara left, Harry and Niall agreed on the movie and checked when it was on, getting the tickets online. Louis thought they were adorable, slightly awkward and glancing at each other all the time. He stood in the kitchen doorway with Zayn as he watched the two do their thing on the tablet on the sofa, and Zayn put his arm around his waist.

“You OK?” he asked. Louis nodded, sighing.

“You know me, extremely jealous, but god, look at him. Look at them”, he said quietly. Zayn smiled at him.

“This feels OK”, he said, equally quiet.

“You know what, it really does”, Louis said, biting his lip.

“You gonna be OK without sex for a bit, though?” Zayn asked with a grin. Louis chuckled.

“It is exciting, you know, kind of like starting a new relationship. In a way, it’s exactly that, even with Harry”, he said, tilting his head.

“Can’t imagine”, Zayn said, sipping the rest of his drink, before going to deposit his empty bottle into the kitchen where he was headed in the first place.

“Right, Harry, time to go”, he announced when he returned to the living room. Louis made his way to the sofa where the others stood up. Suddenly it hit Louis, that he’d need Niall’s permission to kiss his boyfriend good night, and he just knew his expression got desperate at the thought. Harry turned to Niall, looking kind of desperate as well.

“Can I kiss him?” he asked, making Louis feel a bit warmer inside. Niall looked surprised.

“Course”, he said, but Harry grabbed onto his arm.

“Really? You can say no, and it’ll just be like for Zayn”, he said. Niall frowned and tilted his head.

“What is it going to be like for Zayn?” he asked. Harry chuckled.

“Like I always kiss everyone when they leave”, he said. Harry did usually always kiss everyone on the mouth. Niall blushed a bit.

“Not everyone”, he said. He was the only one who got kisses on the cheek instead.

“Well, I didn’t know your stance on it, did I?” Harry asked with a small smile. Niall glanced at Louis as Zayn and Harry moved to put on their shoes.

“Tonight that’ll be on the mouth too, right? Can you… can you get that part done here instead of outside?” Louis asked, swallowing around the small lump in his throat.

Harry glanced up at him after getting completely ready, Niall and Zayn still struggling with their shoelaces.

“No kisses on the mouth without the other present, got it”, he said with a small smile. Niall and Zayn were ready now, too, looking between the two.

“I’d, um… I’d like that, too”, Niall said in a small voice, “If it’s OK?” Louis nodded, and Harry did as well.

“Course”, Harry said.

“But, um… you can snog properly now, if you like. I mean, I’m used to seeing that anyway”, Niall said, looking to the side rather than at anyone. Zayn put his hand on Niall’s shoulder, and Harry gave him a lopsided smile. It didn’t feel like Niall wanted them to.

Harry turned to kiss Zayn on the mouth, and Zayn laughed.

“We’re going to the same place, mate”, he said.

“I know, just wanted to kiss you too”, Harry said with a grin, making everyone laugh and the tension break a bit.

Then Harry turned to Niall and gave him a peck on the corner of his mouth.

Niall blushed, looking pleased, as Harry turned to Louis. They hugged, first and Louis felt infinitely better with Harry’s whole body pressed against him. Then Harry pulled back and kissed him gently on the mouth. It wasn’t a snog, but it was bigger and better than a normal kind of peck.

Niall looked surprised they didn’t go for more, and Harry ruffled his hair a bit.

“You didn’t want us to”, he pointed out, and Niall blushed, shrugging. Then Louis stepped forward to give both Zayn and Niall a peck on the cheek, and Niall looked surprised at that, too.

“You’ve… never done that”, he pointed out. Louis blushed.

“Had my head up my arse about thinking Harry’d leave me, didn’t I”, he said quietly, then pulled Niall into a hug.

“You’ve had something up your arse thinking about Niall and Harry, I’d reckon”, Zayn said, loosening the atmosphere again, and making Louis blush.

“Shut up and go listen to Harry defile your showerhead”, he said. Zayn groaned, but everybody laughed, even him. And then they were gone, and Louis was all alone, and he felt lonelier than ever as he readied himself for bed.

 

The next day he got adorable texts from Harry as he and Niall went out on their date.

“He’s so cute! I can’t take it!” was one of the first ones, accompanied by a picture of Niall dressed up a bit.

After some more texts, the movie apparently started, and when it ended Louis got another text straight away. He was hanging out with Zayn at that point, and Zayn kept grinning at him when the texts just kept coming.

“So, we’ve agreed with Niall that sexting is not fine, so we should try to keep the flirting by text to a minimum”, Harry sent at some point, and Zayn laughed when Louis whined about it.

“Tell him I’m fine with sexting as long as everyone’s present for it in some way”, he sent back, and got a laughing smiley and a picture of a blushing Niall back.

“Send me pictures of you too”, Louis sent with a pouting smiley. Next he got a selfie of both boys, smiling at the camera, and he smiled at the picture until Zayn poked him and demanded attention.

Later on Louis and Zayn went out to a club with Liam and Tara, while Harry and Niall apparently went to Niall’s place for drinks. Louis was feeling a bit off, even though he trusted Harry completely. He still felt left out and all that.

By the time Harry sent him a message saying he was headed home, Zayn had found a girl for the evening, and Louis sent back a picture of the two of them snogging.

“Zayn’s pulled”, he sent.

“Can’t head to his, then, can I?” Harry sent back, followed by, “Liam?” Louis chuckled and sent back a picture of Tara basically giving Liam a lap dance.

The reply came from Niall’s number.

“Harry can go back to yours, I don’t mind.” Louis snapped a picture of himself raising an eyebrow.

“Yes you do”, he sent along with it, “and I’m too drunk to want to resist that temptation.” He went to talk to Zayn and then started heading home, sending one more text to Harry, who had sent a “then what?” text to him while he was talking with Zayn.

“Zayn’s coming to ours to the guestroom, for the night. No worries”, he sent.

“Walk me to Zayn’s? Kiss good night?” Harry sent back, and Louis smiled at his phone before putting it into his pocket and heading Zayn’s way.

When he got there, Harry and Niall were there, talking quietly looking happy and flustered and cute, and Louis couldn’t help himself as he flung his arms around Harry and buried his face into his neck with a small, desperate sound.

“Miss you”, he said as he finally pulled away, and Harry kissed the top of his head and ruffled his hair.

“Miss you too”, he said. Niall looked awkward, biting his lip a bit.

“Zayn’s not as comfy as you”, Harry pointed out, making them all laugh.

“Butt not plush enough to spoon into?” Niall asked. Harry grinned.

“I’m the little spoon”, he pointed out. Niall blushed a bit at that.

“Incorrigible, our Harry. He just can’t be the big spoon, says it’s uncomfortable and lonely”, Louis said with a grin, hand on the small of Harry’s back.

“I’m the big spoon”, Niall said, tilting his head, “feel a bit suffocated being the little one, often.” Harry’s smile widened.

“Well I love both, so I guess we fit well enough”, Louis said with a grin.

“I love being middle spoon too, safe and snug all around”, Harry said nodding vigorously. Niall was blushing at them, and Louis leaned in to peck Harry’s cheek.

“Have fun?” he asked Niall. Niall nodded with a smile.

“Thanks for letting me borrow him”, he said.

“You’re not borrowing him. He’s yours too”, Louis pointed out, giving Harry a small shove Niall’s way. Harry grinned widely at Niall’s blush.

“Plenty of me to go around”, he said. Louis grinned.

“I’ll say”, he said. Niall blushed even more at that.

Then Harry stepped forward and pulled Niall in a bit. Louis took in everything on both their faces and bodies, the slight trembles and Harry’s slightly sweaty palms… they looked perfect together as their lips connected for the first time. It was gentle, didn’t go too deep yet, even though Louis could tell Harry wanted to take it all the way. Louis wanted to join in, to step closer, to touch Harry in some way, to ground him, to own him, but he couldn’t. It was their first kiss, it had to be theirs alone, and suddenly he felt bad for intruding in the first place.

After a while, the two of them pulled apart, looking flustered and so, so happy. They were holding hands, and Niall ducked his blushing face shyly, until Harry tilted it back up and kissed him again, smaller and gentler.

After a while, Harry turned to glance at Louis, and Louis let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“I’m sorry”, he said quietly.

“For what?” Harry asked, letting go of one of Niall’s hands and taking his instead. Louis couldn’t even look at Niall, he felt so bad.

“For ruining this for you. I mean, this should’ve been in private, not with me watching”, he breathed out, turning his face down.

“Didn’t ruin a thing, that was perfect”, Niall said in a gentle voice. Louis ventured a glance at him, and in an instant found his lips being pressed to Harry’s. He whimpered desperately into the kiss, as gentle as just now to Niall, only a bit deeper, at the same time perfect and not nearly enough. He felt dizzy as they pulled apart.

“Fuck”, he mumbled as he held a hand in front of his eyes.

“You OK?” came Niall’s voice, and Louis nodded as best he could, grabbing hard onto Harry’s jacket, feeling Harry’s arm around his waist for support.

“He gets overwhelmed”, Harry said, “nearly fainted the first time we kissed.” Niall chuckled at that, and then Louis felt a new hand on his waist on the other side, and Niall’s lips on his cheek. Harry kissed his other cheek, and he chuckled as he looked back up.

“Sorry again”, Louis said. Both hands on his waist tightened for a bit.

“Louis”, Niall said in a chastising tone of voice, and Louis chuckled, nodding.

“Fine, be that way”, he said, leaning in to peck Niall’s cheek, and then Harry’s.

“Good night”, he added, pulling back from both of them, “I’m gonna go now so I don’t just take this too far already.”

“Good night, love”, Harry said, squeezing his hand once more, and Niall’s too, and then turning to go into Zayn’s building. Niall waved at them both as he turned around, and after just a few steps, Louis found himself added to a group conversation where both boys wished him good night again. Louis smiled at his phone, typed back a reply, adding a picture of Harry’s face asleep and drooling into a pillow.

Still, going to sleep, especially hearing what Zayn was up to in the next room, Louis felt even lonelier.

 

The three of them, along with Zayn and Liam and Tara sometimes, took to hanging out at Louis and Harry’s every afternoon after work. Harry first appeared on Monday, with Niall in tow, saying he’d forgotten some papers at home, and then proceeding to go through them with Niall while Louis cooked them dinner.

They worked, watched TV, played games, everything they usually did, only they got progressively closer and started kissing a bit as well. At first it was just your average Harry, him sitting in laps and pulling both boys into his, indiscriminately, just whoever happened to be closest when he wanted a cuddle. He would kiss both boys’ cheeks in thanks and hello, and just because as well. By Friday, it felt like it had been forever since Louis had had a good snog, though, so in the end, he just plopped down straddling Harry’s thighs.

“I want a kiss. A real one”, he pouted. Harry glanced to the side, where Louis knew Niall was sitting, but right then he didn’t want to see Niall, he wanted Harry to himself. And he got him. Harry leaned forward and when their lips first connected, Louis’ eyes slid shut. He lost himself inside Harry’s mouth, feeling his hands on his hips, shifting a bit in his lap, knowing there was a half-hard cock just inches from his own as they kissed and kissed, tasted each other for the first time in a week.

When Harry pulled back, Louis felt faint again, but more than that, he felt bad because he knew Harry had to turn back to Niall now, and that he’d have to share Harry again. But Harry didn’t. He just kept looking at Louis, gently touching his face and holding onto his hip with his other hand. And then he was leaning in again, pulling Louis closer, grinding up a bit as they kissed again, good and deep. Distantly, Louis felt like Niall actually left the room at some point, but he was too far gone to care. Equally distantly, he realized there were tears running down his cheeks when they pulled apart again.

Then he heard sounds, and realized Zayn, Liam and Tara had already showed up, and were chatting in the kitchen. Louis looked away from Harry’s face to check the time with a frown, and realized they’d been there for at least half an hour. When he turned back to Harry, Harry was smiling and then leaning forward to kiss his tears away. Louis bit his lip and chuckled.

“Guess I needed that”, he said embarrassedly, feeling his face heat up.

“Me too”, Harry said with a small smile, and just then Niall joined them, sitting next to Harry and grinning at them both.

“All better?” he asked. Louis knew he was properly blushing now.

“Thanks”, he mumbled, but Niall shook his head.

“I know your relationship needs more, I’m not stupid”, he said, smiling still. Louis let out a breath, then moved to get up, only to realise he was still half-hard and Harry was fully, biting his lip and everything. He glanced down and then up with an arched eyebrow, and Harry grinned at him.

“Can’t help it, can I?” he said. Louis grinned.

“Neither can I”, he said.

“Neither can I”, Niall said, sipping his beer with a shifty look on his face, and Louis glanced down, to see a suspicious bulge in Niall’s jeans as well.

“Is it safe to enter?” Tara asked as the other three came in with drinks for themselves and Louis and Harry.

“Relatively”, Harry said, grinning and making Louis turn half way around in his lap.

“This OK?” he asked Niall who just nodded and put on the show they’d agreed to watch.

As Louis leaned back into Harry he felt better than all week. Later on he realised he felt like he was acting more like himself than all week, too. And the others seemed to notice.

When Zayn left for a date, and Liam and Tara left to basically have sex, Harry suddenly just pulled Niall into his lap. It was nothing new, but this time he put his hand behind Niall’s neck and pulled him close, and dove in deep. It was their first deep kiss, and again Louis felt out of place. After watching for a bit, he mostly felt good, though. The two were lost in each other for a bit, and that was fine. They needed to get closer for all of them to get closer, anyway.

They both looked hot and happy, and Louis glanced down to see their crotches move in a way that made it very clear Harry was hard as hell, and Niall’s jeans were tenting more than they’d been when Harry and Louis had kissed. It made Louis half hard too, and he smiled lopsidedly to himself as he got up and started clearing the bottles and glasses and snack bowls into the kitchen.

After a while, a flustered Niall joined him, and Louis heard the toilet door snick.

“Sorry, um…” Niall started to say, but Louis just shook his head and smiled a bit.

“That was hot”, he said. It seemed like Niall couldn’t help the huge grin on his face.

“I feel like I should make it up to you, somehow. Like I’m stealing him a bit”, he said after a while, though, biting his bottom lip again. Louis bit his lip and shook his head, dropping what he was doing and stepping closer.

“I miss him. I need him so much. I can share him just fine, like tonight, but I just… I need him closer. You’re not stealing him, though. We all need this period to work out how this is going to work”, he said, taking Niall’s hand. Niall nodded, looking down at their hands.

“I still feel like you and I should be a bit closer, too”, Niall said quietly. Louis smiled a small smile, and then turned towards the door.

“Harry?!” he shouted, making Niall look up.

“Yeah?” Harry shouted from the toilet door, just walking out, it seemed.

“I’m gonna kiss Niall now”, Louis announced. Niall was blushing when he turned back to him, and they heard some spluttering and a crash as Harry hurried to the kitchen door. Knowing he was there, Louis just leaned in and pulled Niall into a gentle kiss. Niall made a small sound as he deepened it, deciding to go further faster, and Louis found himself moaning a bit as they shifted closer. They broke apart at a broken noise from the doorway, glancing that way, both panting a little, and saw Harry gripping his crotch.

“Fuck, that was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen!” Harry moaned. Louis grinned at him and let his hands travel down to Niall’s arse, pulling him in a bit more. Harry made another broken sound at that, and both Louis and Niall laughed.

“Close enough for you?” Louis asked Niall with a grin as he let him go. Niall looked up at him coyly and Harry just made a desperate sound again.

“Reckon it’s a good start”, Niall said.

“You’re insanely hot you know”, Louis said matter-of-factly as he turned back to what he was doing before, adjusting his boner. Niall didn’t do anything about his, just letting it show, as he leaned against the table. Harry joined him with a kiss on the cheek.

“God I want you both so much”, Harry said, burying his face in his hands for a bit. Louis and Niall both laughed at that.

 

The next night saw Harry and Niall cuddling on the sofa, Louis half in Liam’s lap, Tara on the other side, and Zayn walking in, seeing everyone squeezed onto the sofa, huffing and then sitting down in Harry’s lap.

“Reserved seat”, Louis said, sitting up, and Zayn grinned at him.

“To who?” he asked.

“Both”, Niall announced, pushing Zayn away and taking his place, pulling Louis up to join him on Harry’s other knee. Everybody laughed at that.

Louis pecked Niall’s cheek, and frowned at the others who stared at him like he’d done something surprising.

“What?” he asked, settling down and putting his arm around Harry’s shoulders for comfort.

“You’re normal”, Zayn pointed out. Louis scoffed, letting his other hand pull Niall back into Harry as well. Niall also put his arm around Harry’s shoulders, and let his fingers caress Louis’ shoulder. Louis turned to smile at him.

“Right”, he said, leaning in to kiss Niall. Niall chuckled into the kiss when Harry’s reaction became clear.

“So you’re starting to get settled, then”, Tara said. Louis chuckled into the kiss before pulling back and pecking Harry’s cheek.

“That’s all I get?” Harry asked, pouting.

“I think we need to wait for the others to leave, love”, Louis said, putting his finger on the pout. Niall giggled, pecking Harry’s other cheek.

“Maybe we should go”, Liam said, and everyone laughed. After the show that they were watching, the others did leave, winking and grinning at them, and after the good bye kisses, Harry and Niall settled back on the sofa, cuddling close, Harry with Niall’s legs pulled into his lap, hanging in between his legs. Louis sat on the other side of Harry, and just pulled him into a good snog. He knew Harry was pressing Niall’s knee into his crotch, and then Harry turned to snog Niall as well, and Louis was left thinking what would happen. When the two others pulled apart, he cleared his throat.

“What… um, what’s gonna happen now?” he asked shyly.

“I kind of… I want the first time to be all of us, but also I kind of feel like Niall deserves his own first time”, Harry said quietly, looking at and caressing Niall’s feet in his lap.

“Same here. I feel like I owe it to Niall”, Louis said, biting his lip. It would be absolute torture to be left out right now. Niall cleared his throat, and took his feet from Harry’s lap, sitting up straight.

“Lou, I… I know you don’t like me like that but I… I’m joining your relationship, not creating a separate one with Harry”, he said, “Wasn’t that the point?”

“Mate, I’m well attracted to you, you’re fine there”, Louis said with a grin, “but yeah, not romantically, at least not yet.” Niall smiled at him. They both turned to look at Harry, who was blushing a bit by now, adjusting his crotch.

“These jeans are killing me”, he said, and Louis grinned as he decided to take the initiative and pressed his hand to Harry’s hard on.

“Course they are, with no underwear”, he pointed out after some rubbing. Niall made a soft sound and put his own hand next to Louis, who grinned as he took it in his own and lead Niall around.

“God, how bloody big are you?” Niall asked with a grin. Harry was moaning, bucking his hips with his eyes closed and head thrown back, by now.

“He’s huge, mate”, Louis whispered into Niall’s lips before kissing him. Harry moaned as they kissed each other, while opening Harry’s jeans and taking him out. With Harry’s hard cock springing out in between them, Niall had to look down, and Louis moaned as well as he saw it after so long.

“Fuck”, he breathed, putting his hand down to his own crotch. To his surprise, Niall’s fingers followed, helping him free his boner. At the same time, Harry’s fingers worked on Niall’s flies, and in no time there were three throbbing cocks in the air. Louis was already leaking hard, just by the touch of Harry again, and Niall’s new, fumbling hand.

It didn’t take very long. Harry lost it first, the two of them all over him, and then the two others helped Niall over the edge, Louis needing only a bit of help after that, grinding himself against Harry’s pelvis.

“Fuck”, Harry breathed after they’d all caught their breaths. He looked down at himself, chuckling at the mess on him. He ran his finger through Louis’ release, tasting it and grinning at Louis. Louis huffed out a laugh as he buried his face into Harry’s neck. Then Harry ran another finger through Niall’s mess and Niall blushed hard and groaned a bit as Harry tasted it.

“Wish I could suck you both at the same time”, Harry commented, making both of them chuckle.

“Stay the night?” Louis asked as they started to get up and get cleaned. Harry glanced at Niall.

“Both of you”, Louis clarified.

“Middle spoon!” Harry yelled as he ran to the bedroom, and Niall and Louis were left to chuckle at each other, shaking their heads. It was a bit awkward, getting fully naked after all that, but Harry was already naked, face first in the mattress, and when Niall joined him, he turned to be the little spoon, pulling Niall against himself in the back. Louis grinned at them and settled in front of Harry, letting Harry’s cock fit snugly into his crack, and shifting around until he felt good. He felt Harry move his hand, and then there was Niall’s tentative hand on his waist. Louis made an appreciative noise and Harry’s hand closed around Niall’s. It was perfect.

 

Now that that had happened, it was even more difficult to stay away from Harry, and Niall too. Louis found himself getting closer to Niall all the time, cuddling up to him when Harry wasn’t in the room. He even accidentally kissed Niall when Harry wasn’t home at all, and they both felt a bit shocked about it when they pulled apart as Harry’s key turned in the lock.

Harry, however, was only happy to hear about it, and Louis realized he didn’t mind the others kissing when he wasn’t there, either. When it first happened, he felt a bit funny, but it was a happy funny, not a bad one. Niall was apparently also very happy with the others kissing without him. In fact, it seemed to turn him on to hear about them snogging, and he requested Harry move back in, even though he himself wasn’t spending nights with them.

At first, snuggling up to Harry alone felt a bit bad, but When Niall, showing up the next evening, asked for all the dirty details, they all agreed the others were OK for even sex alone. There, however, they wanted to be notified, and so happened the first sexting session in their shared chatroom. Louis and Harry just couldn’t keep their hands to themselves one evening, so Louis took out his phone and sent a message into their chatroom.

_“Can I?”_

The reply came instantaneously.

_“Send me a pic”_ , it said, and Louis huffed out a laugh, snapping a few quick shots of their next kiss. He chose the best and sent that, turning back to snogging Harry and groping his arse until Niall replied.

_“Yep, I’m good, just keep those pictures coming”_ , Niall sent. Harry grinned at that, and started working on Louis’ flies. Louis pushed him over, however, and gave him his own phone before virtually diving into his pants. He heard Harry’s panting breaths, interspersed with the shutter clicking as he mouthed Harry’s cock through his pants, as he dug it out and took a few licks, as he took it in his mouth as far as he could, and then he saw Harry take the last picture as he hollowed his cheeks and sucked on the way up, locking eyes with Harry.

“Says he wants that too”, Harry breathed, then moaned as Louis got a rhythm going. When Harry started getting too incoherent and twitchy within the next few moments, Louis reached for his own phone, and snapped a picture just as Harry rolled his head to the side, eyes closed, completely wrecked, and then he took a few selfies as he pulled off a bit, eyes closed, to catch Harry’s come all over his face and in his mouth. While he tried to get a stray bit out of his eye, Harry, huffing a laugh, took his phone, selected one of those selfies, and sent it to Niall.

“He says that was fast”, Harry chuckled as he handed back Louis’ phone and reached for his own.

_“Been a while”_ , Harry sent into the chat, along with a winking smiley. What Niall sent back, a picture of his hand holding his own very erect cock, had Louis moaning and reaching for his own crotch. Harry grinned and snapped a picture of that.

“Come on, I know you’re wearing lingerie again today”, Harry said, “show us.” So Louis got up and started stripping, Harry snapping pictures every now and then. When Louis was down to just the black panties, Harry let his fingers caress the bulge, making Louis moan and twitch his own nipples. He heard the shutter click, and Harry chuckle.

“Niall’s loving this”, he said. Louis crowded his space, taking his own phone up again.

“Want your mouth”, he moaned as Harry instantly started nosing along the hard ridge of his cock. He took a picture of that, then of Harry tasting the gathered pre-come, looking up at Louis. Niall’s answers were short and full of typos, and when Louis sent a picture of his cock being freed and on its way to Harry’s mouth, Niall sent back a picture of his own dick between his own lips.

“Oh, fuck”, Louis moaned, thrusting forward, pulling Harry’s hair and snapping a picture of that.

“Look what he can do”, he said in a desperate tone of voice, showing Harry the picture. Harry closed his eyes and moaned around his cock, picking up the pace and starting to touch his own renewed erection as well. Louis snapped a picture of that, and then fucked Harry’s mouth for a short while before Niall replied. The picture was of Niall’s face, covered in come and with an innocent, shy expression on his face. Louis moaned, snapping a picture as he painted Harry’s lips with his own come, and then showed both pictures to Harry, who moaned and got up, wanking furiously by now. Louis stroked his own cock a bit, spent but not overly sensitive, and Harry came on it, as Louis snapped another picture.

_“Fuck, that was great”_ , Niall sent back, and Louis grinned at his phone before kissing Harry.

“Those images should last us a while for the wank bank”, he said happily, and Harry laughed at him.

 

A few days later, Louis was drudging home, tired from work but still needing to finish a report in the evening. He knew Harry had some dinner waiting for him, and that thought kept him going, along with the thought of kisses and cuddles after work was finally done.

When he got there, Harry and Niall were snogging on the sofa, almost naked by now. He sighed and bit his lip, then shook his head at himself. He went into the kitchen and set his laptop up there, trying to block out the moans in the living room. There was no actual door between the two rooms, but there was no desk to work at in the bedrooms, so kitchen it was, unless he wanted to try and work alongside the two of them getting it on in the living room.

Louis took some food from the stove, thankfully still warm enough, and glanced around when Harry appeared in the doorway, wearing only his low-slung sweatpants.

“Join us?” he asked in a rough voice, but Louis shook his head.

“Go ahead, I need to finish this”, he said gesturing towards the laptop with a tired smile. The report was due yesterday, but he hadn’t had all the material come in until just before he’d left the office today. It was expected in an hour at the latest, for a meeting, so he had to hurry.

Harry stared at him for a while longer and he shook his head with a smile.

“I’m serious. Tell me all about it later on”, he said with a wink, and Harry smiled and disappeared.

Sex was the last thing on Louis’ mind for the next half hour, as he ate his cooling food in between pouts of writing and going through all the information needed for the report. He briefly noted the lack of noise from the living room, so he assumed the two had moved their activities to the bedroom instead.

When he was finally done, the report sent with about twenty minutes left to spare, he leaned back in the chair and rubbed his eyes and temples a bit. He had a horrible headache by now, and he’d lost all his appetite for the half portion he still had left. He went to the bathroom to get a headache pill, and passing the bedroom he heard some pleasurable noises.

Hearing them made him feel a bit better. The noises meant Harry and Niall were happy and healthy, having fun without a care in the world, and that was all Louis wanted, really. He had a small smile tease at the corners of his mouth as he washed his face and took the pill. Returning to the kitchen, he heard Harry was nearing a big finale, and grinned to himself as he started on putting the leftovers in the fridge and doing the dishes.

Just as he was done with them, Niall appeared in the doorway, completely naked, and looking happy and relaxed, and tired. He just reached out at Louis, and Louis’s face morphed into a tired smile as he took a deep breath and walked towards him. His shoulders were slumped and achy, and Niall pulled him into an embrace, kissing his cheek and neck, and just holding him there for a bit.

“You look like shit”, he informed Louis, who chuckled and nodded.

“Feel like shit, too”, he said and let Niall lead him into the bedroom and push him down next to a dozing Harry.

“You missed some fun”, Harry informed him. Louis chuckled as he took off his shirt and jeans and settled down, Niall curling up on his other side.

“I’m glad you could have fun while I was having a lousy time, actually. I’m glad you two could take care of each other instead of having to wait for me to finish”, he said, trying to sort out his thoughts.

“You sure?” Niall asked, carding his fingers through Louis’ hair. Harry curled up with his back to Louis, so Louis curled up as his big spoon, and then Niall got closer to him and pulled the covers on top of them.

“Your turn to middle spoon”, Harry announced sleepily.

“You OK?” Niall asked, stroking the edge of Louis’ boxers with a finger. Louis just nodded into Harry’s mess of hair.

“Later”, he said, “horrible headache.” Niall placed a kiss on the back of his neck.

“Fix you up first, then”, he said quietly. Harry made an agreeing noise and ground back a bit on Louis’ half erection. Louis smiled into his hair, eyes closed, breathing in the scent of sex and both his lovers.

Both his lovers.

He had apparently, without noticing, started to think of Niall as his boyfriend, and not just Harry’s. That embrace in the kitchen had definitely not been sexual attraction, anyway, and it hadn’t quite been friendship, either.

“Love you”, Harry mumbled from the edges of sleep.

“You too”, Louis mumbled back, and Niall made a funny noise behind him.

“You too, Ni”, Louis said quietly, and Niall’s arm around him tightened a bit, his body pressing harder into his.

“You both”, Niall whispered, and Louis took Niall’s hand into his and moved it on top of Harry’s hip.

 

Louis woke up in the morning to feather-like kisses all over his face and neck, and cock. Then there was wet heat, and a mouth that knew how to work him up fast. Louis moaned, and as soon as the other mouth noticed he was awake, it joined his own.

“Fuck”, Louis groaned as the two mouths switched places, and he got a taste of Niall’s sweet tongue. Or well, Niall got a taste of him. Niall didn’t know what Louis liked best, yet, so it was an adorable fumble, though skilled.

“You missed out on that last night”, Harry said in between kissing Louis’ mouth and nipples.

“God you’re amazing”, Louis moaned, grabbing hold of Niall’s hair and Harry’s cock, making harry moan too.

“Fuck I’m close already”, Louis breathed after a particularly good turn of tongue, but Niall made no move to get away. Instead, Harry bent down to join him, and they both licked Louis’ cock for a bit, Harry grabbing it with his hand as well, working it the way Louis liked best: hard and fast, but full strokes, squeezing a bit at the top.  Louis moaned as he started coming, painting both his boyfriends’ mouths and faces with come. While he was still coming, the two of them started kissing, and he moaned again, watching it, watching them wank themselves while sharing Louis’ come.

Harry started crawling upright, and Niall followed his example, so they were both kneeling over Louis’ cock, snogging and reaching out to tug each other off. Louis scrambled forward and took Harry in his mouth, first. Harry moaned into the kiss, and Louis batted away both their hands as he took hold of Harry in his own, and finally sank his mouth down on Niall all the way. Niall moaned hard, twitching his hips.

“Fuck his mouth, he doesn’t have a gag reflex any more”, Harry whispered breathlessly, before continuing the kiss. Niall moaned and started pumping his hips a bit as Louis sucked.

Just when he felt Niall was almost coming, Louis pulled off to play with Harry instead, only keeping a cursory hand on Niall as he moaned and tried to get off on it. Louis got Harry on the edge, then returned to Niall, but this time he kept on, making his hand work harder on Harry too, taking them both to the edge, then pulling back to wank them both into his open mouth.

“Oh fuck”, Niall breathed as he came, Harry just moaning hard. Louis felt Harry’s hand on his arse, pulling a bit, and he got up to his knees as well, while still stroking the two of them through it. Harry leaned in to kiss him, and Niall followed, starting with licking his face clean, and then they switched so Harry was licking his other cheek, and Niall kissing him.

“Fuck that was amazing”, Niall said with a hoarse voice as they ‘d calmed down a bit. He giggled a little and stroked his thumb over Harry’s cheek to catch a stray glob of sperm.

“I need coffee”, Louis croaked out, clearing his throat and getting out of bed, rubbing his bleary eyes. Harry just grinned at him and got up too, picking clothes up for him and pushing him from the small of his back.

“Fuck, your voice got wrecked”, Niall said as he followed them, pulling on his own boxers. Harry just pulled on his sweatpants. He made Louis sit in a chair and started to make coffee and breakfast. Niall sat down and petted Louis’ hair a bit.

“Don’t worry, I love it”, Louis said hoarsely, with a tired smile.

“You OK? You weren’t feeling good last night”, Niall said. Louis nodded.

“Headache returned with a vengeance after all that activity, though”, he said, yawning. Niall got up and started to gently massage his neck and shoulders, making him moan.

“God you’re perfect”, he whispered, making the others chuckle.

“I meant it, you know”, Louis said after a while of this and after a few sips of coffee. Niall didn’t need to ask what, he just smiled and pecked Louis’ cheek.

“Me too”, he said quietly sitting back down. Louis smiled back at him and caught his hand under the table, for a squeeze.

“God I love you both so much”, Harry said from the other side of the table, looking at them so lovingly it kind of hurt Louis’ heart.

 

In the evening Louis was nestled on the sofa against Niall’s chest, his arm around his shoulders and lips in his hair, nursing his headache.

“Been a hard few days at work?” Zayn asked as he showed up and sat on the sofa on top of Louis’ feet.

“Guess so”, Niall said, toying with Louis’ hair.

“Don’t worry, he gets like this every once in a while”, Harry said. Niall looked worried, still, and Louis nuzzled in deeper.

“He works on too many projects at the same time, both personal and work, and then there are suddenly extra deadlines, and he’s stubborn enough not to drop his own deadlines either, so he just works way too much, and then crashes completely. This isn’t even a migraine attack, when he really needs to just lie in a quiet, dark room”, Zayn said. Louis wiggled his toes under Zayn’s thighs until Zayn took one foot in hand and started massaging it.

“I always try to be there more when it gets overwhelming, like I have to make sure he gets warm meals on time and all that”, Harry said. Louis felt Niall kiss his head, and he kissed his chest in return.

“So don’t worry”, Zayn said, with a small smile, “he’ll be fine in a day or two.”

“But I do worry”, Niall said, “I’m not here to help, am I? I could be making warm meals, too.” His voice was quiet, maybe nervous, and Louis could feel him tremble just a bit.

“You want to move in?” he asked, lifting his head up a bit, to see Niall and Harry’s reactions. Niall was looking very nervously up at Harry, who was just smiling bright and wide as anything.

“You can, you know. We have the spare room if you need space, and a huge bed anyway”, Louis said, putting his head back down and burrowing deeper into Niall’s chest. Niall huffed out a laugh.

“Like you haven’t seen that bed yet”, Zayn said under his breath, switching to massage Louis’ other foot.

“Niall can suck himself”, Harry announced just to tease Zayn, just as the front door opened and closed.

“What?!” Liam shouted from the door, making everybody laugh. Niall’s laugh sounded embarrassed, though, so Louis crawled up a bit to kiss him properly.

“Love you”, he mumbled, then settled back down into a new position.

“You do?” Zayn asked, sounding surprised. Louis made an agreeing noise.

“Figured that out last night”, Louis mumbled into Niall’s neck.

“Love you too”, Niall said quietly, kissing the tip of his nose.

“Oh, a Lou-crash happening?” Liam asked from somewhere nearer this time. Someone probably nodded.

“So when can you move in?” Harry was asking, bent over and kissing first Niall’s cheek, then Louis’.

“Tomorrow?” Niall asked in a hopeful voice.

Louis drifted to sleep in Niall’s arms.


End file.
